Down Comes the Night
by lloydskywalkers
Summary: When Garmadon's plans start taking things too far, Harumi is faced with an unappealing choice: watch her city burn, or strike a deal with the person she hates most. Meanwhile, Lloyd finds himself in the middle of the worst week of his life, while faced with a (literal) blast from the past.(Season 9 AU)
1. Chapter 1

**Me: I don't even /like/ Harumi or Morro that much.**

 **Me: *Proceeds to write a multi-chapter fic that's centered primarily around them as major characters.***

 **So I've been wanting to write this fic since like...episode 90, I think? I'm kind of still on the fence about it (especially since I'm trying to write in something other than present tense, ugh), but it keeps growing longer so! Here goes :P It's very much an AU fic deviating after the SOG ambush everyone in the resistance in Hunted, so this takes place just after that.**

 **This is entirely inspired by a post from the amazing randomru on tumblr, who's art you should definitely check out when you have the chance! (and if you go find the post in particular you'll see pretty quickly where this fic is going, heh...)**

* * *

An odd silence had fallen over Borg Tower, a stark contrast to the echoes the screams of terror and wild jeers had left reverberating through the massive tower in days past. In the eerie silence, the sound of the wind pulling at the large banners emblazoned with Garmadon's image seemed almost gratingly loud in Harumi's ears, only adding to the building sense of anxiety in her gut.

A mere day ago, Garmadon himself had ripped her most loyal subordinate to pieces in this very spot.

Harumi swallowed. She had no reason to fear - not this time. This time, she had succeeded where others had failed. Barely, by the skin of her teeth - the fight in the warehouse had been a close thing, and he had almost - _almost_ \- slipped through her fingers again. But Harumi won this round.

A clanking sound behind her cut through the silence, and Harumi turned as the heavy elevator doors creaked open. Killow strode forward, his expression satisfied and gloating as he approached Garmadon. The reason for his satisfaction was obvious - his hand was locked firmly around the fraying fabric of a green collar, dragging the limp body of his victim forward.

Blood streamed from a jagged cut across the prisoner's temple, dripping down his neck to mingle with the darkening crimson that stained the rest of his uniform. His blond hair hung loosely across his face, stained with blood and sweat as it stirred lightly in the wind. His eyes were glassy, dazed and near-uncomprehending as they fluttered weakly.

Harumi's fists tightened. She wanted him awake for this. She wanted him to understand, to see that she had won.

She wanted to see that broken look in his eyes, that stubborn light _finally_ stamped out for good.

Killow stopped just before Garmadon, careful to keep a respectful distance from the dark overlord. Yanking his prisoner up, he threw him at Garmadon's feet, a harsh gasp escaping him as he was unable to break his fall, his hands manacled tightly behind him. Garmadon stared for a brief moment, before a menacing smile drew at his lips.

"Welcome back, Lloyd."

Lloyd bit back a low moan, barely even acknowledging his father's words. Harumi kept her hands clasped tightly behind her back, surveying the scene with an even expression.

Garmadon crouched down, grabbing Lloyd's chin in his hand and harshly forcing his head up. Lloyd stirred, pulling back ineffectively as he snarled weakly.

"Let _go_ of me-"

Garmadon only tightened his hold, looking at his son's face as if searching for something. A brief second passed, and he finally let go, Lloyd's head dropping like a puppet with its strings cut.

"Well done," he said, his voice detached and unreadable. It took Harumi a moment to realize he was addressing her.

She gave a brief nod. "I told you we would not fail you, my lord," she said, keeping her voice emotionless.

 _If only E had managed sooner._

"So you did," Garmadon said, turning to survey the city. He cast a glance back at Lloyd, who still lay crumpled on the ground behind him. "Do you see now, boy? All your efforts, all your foolish hope - wasted, in the end. Surrender was always the only option."

"Resistance…never quits," Lloyd grit out, shifting painfully to his knees. Harumi stiffened at the sentence, and she was keenly aware of several of the other Sons of Garmadon doing the same. The tagline of the resistance had yet to fade from their ears, forceful as it ever was from Lloyd.

Garmadon's jaw tightened, his eyes narrowing into a glare. "Even now," he said, eyeing Lloyd. "You're still just a naive child."

Lloyd glared up at him. "Better that than a pawn."

Garmadon's stare grew cold. " _You_ are the pawn," he growled. "Just like you always were." Garmadon turned back to the city, a dark kind of light sparking in his eyes. It made Harumi's stomach turn.

"In the end, you're only bringing your own destruction upon yourself swifter than ever." Garmadon raised a fist, and there was a low rumble from the streets, the sound of a titan awakening. Garmadon cast his eyes back to his son.

"As well as the destruction of everything you love."

The Colossi rose, and Harumi could feel the heavy vibrations from where she stood as it crashed forward, stepping toward a nearby building - an apartment complex, by the look of it.

A lone cry of panic echoed from one of the balconies, soon turning into a cacophony of screams as the Colossi drew closer to the building. Lloyd inhaled sharply, and Harumi's arms went rigid, her fingers lacing tightly together behind her back.

Lloyd jerked forward, prompting one of her men to lay a restraining hand on his shoulder. "What are you doing," Lloyd ground out, his voice edged in panic.

"Making you see," Garmadon said, and he brought his fist down.

Harumi's eyes went wide. A sudden clank drew her eyes back down, and she started - Lloyd had pulled his chained hands over his legs and in front of him, his eyes fixed on his father in smoldering, burning anger.

She didn't have time to call a warning.

Lloyd snapped into action, crashing his head back against the man restraining him. Killow jerked forward, but Lloyd had already torn himself free, ripping a knife from his gi and surging toward Garmadon.

Garmadon caught a manacled hand just before Lloyd could send the knife through his back. Lloyd struggled violently, kicking at his father as he tried to force the knife down. Garmadon's hand merely tightened, and Harumi could hear the delicate bones in Lloyd's wrist grinding. He dropped the knife with a gutted gasp, still pulling against Garmadon's hold.

"Don't, don't do this, don't you dare, this isn't _you-!_ "

"I thought you'd learned your lesson in Kryptarium, boy," Garmadon said, teeth bared. "This _is_ me."

The Colossi swung a massive arm against the building, the force of the impact rattling the tower itself. Screams erupted in the distance as the left half of the structure began to crumble, the foundation trembling.

Lloyd screamed at his father, abandoning any strategy and lashing out at him as the Colossi continued to rain blows against the building.

"Stop, stop, _please!_ "

Harumi barely noticed her followers exchanging looks as the destruction continued, her mouth dry as ash while she watched, unable to tear her eyes away. Behind her back, her knuckles turned white, her hands clasped together so tightly that her fingers had gone numb.

She listened in mute horror as the screams continued, as loud and piercing as they had been the day her own apartment came crashing down. Her stomach turned, nausea climbing up her throat. The same screams of her parents, as they had met a similar fate-

The building finally gave way completely, smoke and dust filling the air as it crumbled, raining rubble on the streets below with loud, thundering crashes.

Somewhere in the chaos, Harumi thought she heard a child screaming.

Her breathing went tight, her chest constricting as her eyes blurred, still forcing herself to stare resolutely forward. Garmadon finally dropped Lloyd, who sank to the ground in defeat, fighting back blurring tears.

"-hate you," Lloyd choked out, brokenly. "I _hate_ you."

Garmadon scoffed. He looked up at Harumi, his expression remorseless. "Put him in the cage above the temple," he ordered. "Keep him there, so everyone can see him."

Harumi blinked at him, barely able to force her voice steady. "My lord?"

Garmadon's lips curled. "You told me to use a more methodical approach," he said. "A scalpel, didn't you?"

He glanced back at Lloyd, his eyes hard. "At the end of the week, I want every citizen in Ninjago to watch as I execute their precious resistance leader in front of them. Perhaps that will drive an end to their infuriating resistance."

Harumi started, her eyes widening. Garmadon's eyes narrowed. "Is that a problem?"

Harumi steeled herself. "Of course not," she said, tonelessly. "I look forward to it."

Garmadon gave a hint of a malicious smile, and turned, gesturing at her. Harumi reacted robotically, stepping forward to follow Killow as he dragged Lloyd away.

Lloyd, for his part, barely moved, not even when Killow shoved him harshly forward. He stared blankly at the ground, his expression dead, his eyes hollow.

Harumi looked away as they stepped into the elevator, her hands shaking as she folded them tightly together behind her again.

The last screams of the child were still echoing in her ears.


	2. Chapter 2

**You guys, I am blown away by how great everyone's been about this so far, thank you so much - here's hoping I can carry that through!**

 **So here we go, kicking off the actual story! This should explain a little better what's been going on before this, but the next chapter will fill in whatever else is missing. Also I'm pretty sure I'm writing Harumi a bit different than I've ever seen her written, rip, but c'mon guys, you gotta embrace how viciously motivated she is.**

 **Special thanks to starskipper, Dr. Fluffmuffin, LloydTheGreenNinja139, MidnightStarHunter, Monolaymoo, knAngel18, thefiresensei, skylor chan, , Bob, RebelutionaryWrites, Zena Airale, Jessica Jayme Bell, CHEESEPUFF fg, and GwenBrightly for reviewing - it means the world, you guys are the best!**

* * *

Harumi stared at the cluttered mess sprawled across her bed, her jaw grit in consternation.

It was gone.

The ancient, worn scroll she'd stolen from the Library of Domu, the last torn remnant of history that dared to detail the Oni Masks, the scrawled words that had given her the knowledge to resurrect Garmadon with - _gone_.

Harumi bit back a curse, pressing her hands against her temples in frustration. She couldn't have lost it. She didn't _make_ mistakes like that. Not when it came to this, the one thing she'd worked toward the better part of her life.

She pulled her hands away, running one wearily down her face as she looked up, trying to clear her mind. Her surroundings did little to help with that. While left relatively untouched in the blast she'd set off (it seemed like a lifetime ago, now, the night she'd destroyed her royal life), the room she was in hardly brought back good memories.

Her room in the Jade Palace was every bit as nauseating as she remembered it, carefully painted walls and ornate furniture all stark reminders of her late foster parents.

 _Fools_ , she thought, glaring darkly at the spot where paintings use to hang. Not once in all her years with them had they ever suspected the secrets their precious, _beloved_ adopted daughter was hiding from them.

It was easy, when you were a sad little orphan, a charity case, a pathetic attempt to fix an unforgivable mistake-

Harumi yanked her thoughts from the past, returning to the task at hand. Her bed lay covered in old scrolls and papers, strewn hastily where she'd pulled them from beneath her bed. She scanned the text closest to her, tracing the barely-legible words. Her hand stilled over the old document, nearly crumpling the delicate paper in anger.

Another dead end, just like everything else.

She'd read them all before, of course, diligent in her study to resurrect Garmadon. She knew what lay in the scrolls stolen from the darkest depths of the library, had studied them beginning to end, cover to cover.

They were all the same - there was no way to retake Garmadon's power from him. No way to overpower his Colossi.

Not without a compatible vessel for the power.

Harumi bit back a yell of frustration, tossing the scroll back on the bed. Useless, all of it. Harumi wasn't an elemental master. It wouldn't even matter if she was - the texts were clear that Garmadon's power was strictly derived from the First Spinjitzu Master himself. If you wanted to take on that power without dying a slow, agonizing death as it tore you apart, you'd better have that same blood.

This, _this_ is why she should've grabbed the little de-aged brat when she had the chance.

Harumi blew her breath out. No, she didn't need him. She didn't need anyone. All she needed was the slightest opportunity - the slightest advantage against Garmadon. The Oni scroll was her key. Granted, it was only half a scroll - the other half long lost to time, or some careless excavator's hands, doubtless - but it had gotten her this far. If anything could tell her how to reverse this, could give her the slightest edge against Garmadon, it was that scroll.

And now she couldn't find it.

Harumi shook her head, shifting through the scrolls again. Cursing under her breath, she rifled through the stacks of old parchment, her heart sinking lower with each one. Most of her texts were there, but the most important one - _surely_ , she hadn't lost it. It had never left her room, not even for-

"Searching for something?"

Harumi bit back a scream, jumping half a foot in the air and whirling to face Lord Garmadon where he stood behind her, his approach so silent she hadn't heard him coming.

She hadn't even head the _door_ open-

"M-my lord," she said, cursing herself for stammering. "I was merely -"

"I do not care what you do with a pile of old scrolls," Garmadon said, cutting over her in a disinterested voice.

Harumi knew well enough not to be fooled.

"These texts are useless," he continued, with the same bored tone. "You are welcome to them. Though I did do you the favor of sparing you the worst of my father's lies."

Harumi blinked, taken aback. "Your father's…"

"The Oni texts," Garmadon said, his lip curling. "My father should have destroyed them when he had the chance, but as always, he masked them in riddles." He looked down at Harumi's messy pile of scrolls, his eyes dark.

"Those texts deal with rituals far beyond your knowledge, girl," he continued, and Harumi felt a chill run up her spine at his tone. "But in the right hands…"

Garmadon's fist clenched before relaxing again, and Harumi swallowed, her skin crawling as she recalled the agony his power brought, the way E had sparked and crumpled into-

She steadied herself. She was not a pawn to be crushed.

"If - if I may," she said, forcing the tremble in her voice back as she tried to find her steel. "I would like to look at them again. Lies or not, they were quite…interesting."

A dark smirk overtook Garmadon's expression. "Would you?" he said, smoothly. Harumi said nothing, her fingers fisting into the fabric of her pant leg. Garmadon looked away. "Unfortunate, as I have need for them."

Harumi looked down, her fingers curling and uncurling.

"I do worry," he said suddenly, with a note of suspicion. "About you. I fear you may still care for my son-"

"He means _nothing_ to me," Harumi snapped, viciously. " _All_ I care about is making the people who wronged me pay."

Garmadon nodded, looking placated. "I appreciate your loyalty to your cause," he said, his voice quiet now, almost distant. "Loyalty, especially to family, is hard-found these days."

He trailed off, his voice almost a whisper. "We must remain loyal to our blood."

Harumi shifted, caught off guard by the openness he was speaking to her with. This wasn't the Garmadon she was used to. The one she was familiar with was more likely to crush your skull than he was to tell you about his family drama.

Garmadon looked up at her, his eyes burning red. "That, of course, is one of my son's shortcomings," he said, evenly. "He casts aside his loyalty to his family for his own selfish beliefs. His pathetic friends and their mortal world."

Harumi stiffened. Loyalty was one thing. But there was her stark reminder - she was a part of this _mortal world_.

And the way he said it hardly led her to believe he had any intention of relenting on Ninjago - on its people.

"Keep an eye out," Garmadon said as he drifted from the room like a shadow, the lamps flickering briefly in his presence. "I expect the remainder of my son's resistance won't wait long to attempt a rescue. I want you to be ready, when that happens."

The unspoken _"or else"_ hung in the room even after he departed. Harumi waited until his footsteps had long faded before releasing a shaky breath.

Then she slammed her fist against the bedpost, stalking over to her vanity table.

 _Of course_ , she fumed. _Of course, he wouldn't let her keep the one thing that could have given her an edge-_

Harumi's hands balled into fists against the porcelain table, and she braced her weight on them, breathing heavily.

All her life, she'd been certain. She'd been so sure of what she was doing, had always kept her end goal in sight, convicted in her mission.

But now-

Harumi hated feeling doubt. Feeling _lost_.

She looked up, meeting her own wild-eyed reflection in the dresser mirror. The person looking back was almost unrecognizable. The blood-red makeup that stained her eyes and forehead looked darker than it usually did, her sweat having left dull red streaks where it slid down her forehead. Her hair hung loose around her shoulders, brittle and lackluster. Her locks were faded, bleached and lifeless compared to the natural gold of Lloyd's curls, unruly hair soft between her fingers when she pulled viciously at it.

Harumi's nails bit into her palms.

 _Lloyd_.

It kept coming back to him, didn't it? Her pawn, her prize - shiny and _special_ and so, so breakable. Battle-worn and yet pathetically naive, clinging to his faith in others as if it could save him. She should have killed him by now. He had already proven more than once that he wasn't the kind of person to stay down, no matter how many times it seems like he was beaten.

But she couldn't.

Oh, she could break him - she delighted in it, actually, watching the light in his eyes die. But she couldn't bring herself to kill him. A victory without him watching, without the broken look in his eyes, would be a hollow one.

And now Garmadon wanted to kill him instead.

Harumi's expression turned, her eyes dark where they gazed back at her from the mirror. Garmadon was her ruler, sure. She'd gotten him there, made him their emperor. She gave him her city, her soldiers, and he took whatever she didn't give.

But Lloyd was supposed to be _hers_. Hers to hurt, hers to break - Lloyd was supposed to be her revenge. Garmadon disowned him anyways, didn't he? Maybe _he_ should be the one worried about his stance on his son.

But it wouldn't matter, Harumi knew that. She had misjudged Garmadon before, and after E - she wouldn't again. He _would_ kill Lloyd, there was no doubt that he would follow through on that one. Perhaps he would make it quick, a merciful death for the son he no longer remembered. Or perhaps he would draw it out, and Harumi would go to bed with Lloyd's dying screams echoing in her ears for the rest of her life.

What a waste. Garmadon didn't see the potential in people, and that was his short-falling.

Not hers.

The terrified cries from earlier echoed through her ears, and Harumi's fists tightened further as she recalled the child's screams.

This wasn't about Lloyd. This was about the city - _her_ city. Ninjago was hers. This was her plan, her doing - Garmadon wouldn't even exist right now if it wasn't for her.

Harumi slid toward her window, staring out over the city, the ruins of an empire that should be hers. She couldn't deny it any longer. For all that she'd pinned her hopes on him, she couldn't avoid the undeniable truth.

Garmadon would destroy it. He'd destroy it all, until there was nothing left of what used to be Ninjago. And hundreds, thousands of her people would die in the process.

It was simply his nature.

Spinning suddenly, Harumi kicked the vanity over, screaming uselessly as the porcelain shattered.

This wasn't the first time she'd lost an idol, but it was the first time she was in such a powerless position to do anything about it.

She couldn't overthrow Garmadon. She'd be an idiot to assume her once-loyal followers would commit what would probably end in suicide to help her, either. Harumi grit her teeth, the realization burning in her gut like poison.

She needed a compatible vessel. She needed someone who could challenge the First Spinjitzu Master's bloodline. There was only one living person left in the world who could stand against Garmadon's power and possibly, _possibly_ , survive.

And he was locked in a cage several stories below her, awaiting execution.

Harumi suppressed another shriek of rage. It would be _humiliating_ \- degrading and utterly infuriating - to ask him for help. She wouldn't, she _couldn't_.

 _But she had to, didn't she_ , she thought, glaring a hole through an ancient scroll.

If she wanted her city back - if she wanted to stop the destruction - she would have to turn to the one person she'd sworn to destroy.

Who also hated her. And who she hated, _loathed,_ in turn.

It was a nauseating thought.

But oddly, she found the thought of him dying beneath his father's hand just as unsettling.

* * *

A rickety, beat-up chair went flying across the abandoned shophouse, hurtling toward the ground where it smashed to pieces, wood crunching as it splintered. The other occupants of the room flinched at the violent noise.

Nya let out another wordless yell of anger, kicking over an unfortunate table in rage. Her shout reverberated loudly against the hollow walls, echoing metallically in the room.

Skylor spared a worried look at the boarded-up windows before trading an anxious look with Pixal. The nindroid looked every bit as unsettled, and just as unsure as Skylor was on how to approach this.

"Nya…" she finally said softly, stepping toward her. "You need to calm down. If they catch us-"

"This is _your_ fault," Nya hissed, rapidly turning on her. Skylor flinched back, caught off guard. "If you had been more careful, if you had just gotten him into the battle wagon like you were supposed to-!"

"Skylor did the best she could, Nya," Pixal cut in, her voice quiet but firm. "This isn't her fault, and you know it."

"How are you just sitting there?!" Nya yelled, whirling on Pixal instead. "Don't you _get_ it?" Her eyes flashed. "She _has_ him! That - that snake has him, alone in her tower, and I - I-"

Nya's expression hitched, her eyes welling up as her face fell, crumpling in misery. She collapsed at a benched table, burying her face in her hands.

"I failed him," she whispered, her voice thick as it echoed in the quiet room. "I was supposed to protect him, and I-"

Tensing, Nya snapped her head up, hurling her spear across the room as she cursed. She immediately buried her face back in her arms, her shoulders shaking.

Skylor took a tentative step forward, exchanging a wide-eyed look with the others. She carefully sat down beside Nya, her hand hovering over her shoulder.

"I'm sorry," Nya muttered, before Skylor could say anything. "It's not your fault. I didn't mean that."

Skylor let her hand fall comfortingly on Nya's shoulder, squeezing tightly. "It's okay," she said, her own voice tight. "I get it. I - I should have stopped him."

"You couldn't have."

Both girls raised their heads at Misako's rasping voice, speaking for the first time since they had fled the warehouse.

Misako looked down at her trembling hands where she sat huddled in the corner, her face white, expression twisted in agonized guilt. "He came back for me," she whispered. "You know that's why they got him. If he had just left me-"

Misako covered her face with a shaking hand. "He should have left me," she murmured. "It's the least I would have deserved. He should have _left_ me."

"Lloyd doesn't leave people," Pixal said, laying a hand on Misako's shoulder. "It's not in his nature."

"And we're sure as hell not leaving him," Nya said, the fire returning to her eyes. "Not if I have to cut through every last one of Harumi's little gang."

"You might have to," Skylor muttered. "Lloyd isn't exactly a low-profile prisoner." She winced at the look on Misako's face. "I'm sure he's fine, though. She definitely wanted him alive, so that…that gives us time."

"No, it doesn't," Nya bit out. "Every second she has Lloyd is already one second too many."

Skylor bit her lip, jerking her head toward Misako while sending Nya a look. "But the _important_ thing is that they need him alive, so we have time to find him."

"From my surveillance, they've taken everyone to Kryptarium prison," Pixal said. "Our friends are likely being kept under careful watch there."

Misako's eyes narrowed. "I doubt he'd let Lloyd off that easily," she said venomously, regaining a bit of life. "He'd keep him somewhere close. Somewhere alone, separated from everyone else."

The others shifted, Nya's expression tight with anxiety. There was no need to ask who _he_ was.

"Then we raid Borg Tower," Pixal said, her voice determined. "And if he's there, we find him."

"That's not going to be easy," Skylor said, doubtfully. "Security's gonna be tight after our broadcast."

"We'll find a way," Misako said, her voice growing steadier. "There are cracks in every system, even Garmadon's."

"It's _us_ ," Nya said, looking at Skylor. "We can make it. We've got our powers, and Pix has the intel."

"…and I've still got Shade and Paleman's powers," Skylor said, hesitantly. "As long as we take it slow, we might be able to make it in."

" _Might_ isn't good enough," Nya said, tightly. "Lloyd doesn't have time for us to screw it up."

A heavy silence descended upon them, Misako's fingernails clicking as she drummed them anxiously against the tabletop. A crash echoed from outside, followed by muffled voices. Nya straightened in alarm, looking to Pixal.

She shook her head. "Just civilians," she said. "We weren't followed. It will take them time to find us."

"Still, Dareth should have been back by now," Skylor said, her eyes flicking toward the door. "We can't lose anyone else."

"I'll see if I can radio him," Pixal said. She stood, crossing the room back to Misako, who had drawn into herself again. "Can you help me scan the city routes? I'm unfamiliar with the older structures."

Misako blinked, as if coming out of a nightmare. "Y-yes, of course," she said, collecting herself. "Here, let me look at what you have…"

Skylor took a seat back next to Nya as Pixal and Misako talked, watching her friend's expression hesitantly.

"He'll be alright," she finally said, nudging Nya gently. "Lloyd's tough. You know he is. If anyone can hold out against Garmadon and Harumi, it's him."

"He shouldn't have to," Nya muttered, glaring at the wall. "I don't even want to _think_ about what they might be doing-"

"Don't," Skylor said, firmly. "Don't do that to yourself, Nya."

Nya shook her head, the hot anger in her eyes faltering as a swell of despair flashed in them. "I can't lose him, Skylor," she murmured. "Not after - not after everything else. He's my little brother."

Skylor clasped her arm tightly. "You won't," she reassured her. "I promise. It'll be okay."

"Kai's gonna kill me," Nya moaned. "This is every one of his worst nightmares, and then some."

"Kai doesn't need to know this ever happened." Skylor forced Nya to meet her eyes. "Because we're going to get Lloyd back before Garmadon can think twice. It's us, remember? Just like you said."

Nya gave her a strained smile. "Yeah," she said, exhaling tightly. "Yeah. And we'll make sure Harumi wishes she never even-"

A loud noise sounded from outside, a bang against the door. Nya went rigid, Skylor reaching for her weapons. Someone crashed against the door - once, twice, before the it swung open. Nya relaxed her aggressive stance when she saw who it was.

Dareth stood in the doorway panting, his eyes wide. "They're coming," he gasped. "Those darn Sons of Garmadon - the whole block's crawlin' with them. If we're gonna make a move, we need to make it now, or Harumi's gonna have a really good day."

Misako stood up, her hands still trembling slightly. "How close?"

"Too close," Dareth said. "Way, way too close-"

A thundering rumble shook the shophouse, Dareth stumbling forward as screams echoed from the street outside.

Pixal's expression faltered, her eyes going wide. "The Colossi," she breathed. "It's coming."

Skylor and Misako exchanged looks. "We need to go," Skylor said, her voice tinged with fear. "We can - we'll have to plan this somewhere else, when we're safe."

Nya looked to them in panic, her heart flying to her throat. "No," she said, her fists tightening. "No, I'm not just going to _leave_ -"

"We're no use to Lloyd if we're dead, Nya!" Skylor burst out. She closed her eyes briefly, expression strained. "We'll come back. As soon as we can, we'll come back."

Misako nodded unsteadily, and Dareth looked down. Nya took a sharp, bracing breath. She couldn't leave him. Not to Harumi. Not to Garmadon, _again_.

"Nya, please," Skylor said, almost desperately. "We'll come back, I _swear,_ we just can't fight this on our own."

But Nya couldn't save Lloyd if she was in a cell next to him.

She finally dipped her head, refusing to meet Skylor's eyes. "Fine," she bit out, her voice thick. " _Fine_. But the second we lose them, we find a way to get him back."

Skylor's expression crumpled in relief, and she nodded. "No question. But now-" she looked at Pixal. "Find us a way out of here?"

"Already on it," Pixal said, kicking the door open. The chilly night air filtered in, the cries of fear from the people in the streets immediately growing louder. In the distance, they could just hear the approaching hum of motorcycles, the loud voices of the Sons of Garmadon.

Her bright eyes scanning the street, Pixal led them forward, Dareth following Misako protectively, Skylor not far behind. Nya took up the rear, breathing unsteadily as she stepped out into the open.

Nya paused, turning back briefly and looking up at the darkened tower that stood so close, but still so far.

"I'm coming for you," Nya whispered, her eyes hot. "I swear, Lloyd. If I have to burn the city to the ground, I'm coming back for you."


	3. Chapter 3

**Hoo boy, this was a fun one - and it's the one directly inspired by randomru's art, so if you haven't checked their art out on Tumblr yet, please do! And Morro's making his appearance, so yay, more snark.**

 **Thank you so very much to everyone who left such kind reviews, I appreciate it beyond words - nothing gives me motivation to get this story written than hearing from you guys!**

 **I'll stop leaving it on cliffhangers eventually, I promise.**

* * *

Lloyd's luck had always been lousy, but this was beginning to push it.

He slammed against the bars of the same cage he was in not long ago, mostly in frustration. He'd learned earlier that he was useless against the vengestone cage, and _that_ was when he still had powers.

He bit back a groan, giving up and slumping back against the cold metal bars. Banging himself up worse wasn't going to do him any good, anyways. His body already felt like one giant wound, bruises built on top of bruises that never healed in the first place starting to take their toll. Awkwardly stretching his twinging ankle, Lloyd sucked in a breath, trying to dispel the fuzzy darkness still lingering in his head.

No, he wouldn't be getting out of this one anytime soon. Which was a shame, because he had _specifically_ told Nya he wouldn't get himself into any terrible trouble, and now it looked like he was going to be a liar.

Lloyd snorted bitterly. There was no use pretending. He already was a liar - he was in terrible trouble enough as it was, and that was _without_ everything he had hanging over his head.

He hadn't been able to just leave her, though.

When the Sons of Garmadon had come crashing into their base, mere hours after Lloyd had to deliver that nerve-wracking speech to all of Ninjago. He could've gotten away, maybe. He was their target, of course, the main reason they were there in the first place - but he could've made it out. Between Nya and Skylor, it was almost miraculous that he _hadn't_.

But when he had seen his mother, viciously being pulled back by several men, he'd just _snapped_. He couldn't leave her. He couldn't let them take someone else from him, and he was _sick_ and _tired_ of losing his family. And he really hadn't wanted to lose the only parent that could be bothered to care about him anymore, either.

So yeah, Lloyd had recklessly charged in like an idiot and gotten himself captured.

Nya was probably plotting all the different ways she could murder him right now.

Lloyd sighed wearily, one hand raking through his hair almost painfully. At least his mother had gotten out. And Skylor and Nya and Pixal, and Dareth, that he knew. Those were a few people he didn't have to add to his already guilt-ridden conscience.

Now Lloyd could just focus on literally every other elemental master he'd gotten captured. And an entire _building full_ of innocent people-

Lloyd kicked uselessly at the bars, anger sparking in his gut. He should have seen that coming. He should have just kept his stupid mouth shut. Should have just killed his father for good when he had the chance-

Lloyd swallowed. Well, he had kind of…tried to do that last one, hadn't he? The thought chilled him, but not only because it would have quickly led to Lloyd's own rapid demise.

For a moment there, he had almost tried to murder his father. Not _banishing-him-to-the-Cursed-Realm_ murder, or _drown-him-in-the-Preeminent_ murder, or even _blast-the-unholy-heck-out-of-him-with-Golden-Power_ murder (if that…counted). No, this had been straight-up, hand raised in anger, fully down and ready to plunge a knife in his own father's back.

Lloyd shuddered - then mentally berated himself. His fa...Garmadon was _destroying a building full of people_ , Lloyd had every right to try and stop him. He needed to toughen up on that already. It was what he should have done, and it was what he would eventually have to do.

If he lived long enough to get the chance, that was.

Lloyd deflated, pulling his knees up to his chest and leaning his head back against the bars, exhaling wearily. _Right_. He was slated for execution, which was a very bad thing, if he wanted to be of any use in overthrowing Garmadon.

FSM, Nya was _so_ going to kill him.

Lloyd bit his lip, his chest tightening in guilt. She was probably going out of her mind with worry. Lloyd would be, if their positions were reversed. They'd been relying on each other a lot lately - Lloyd more so on Nya than she on him, but it was developing into a dependency the further they got with the resistance. She'd been so determined to keep him safe lately, and with the guys how they were right now…

Lloyd felt like the worst person ever. Which wasn't exactly a new thing, but it was pretty bad at the moment.

 _I'll make it out_ , he promised himself. Before Harumi even got the chance to flash that smug little " _you-deserve-this"_ grin at him, before Garmadon had the chance to disown him again. He'd make it back to Nya.

Lloyd huffed. Well, if he was being honest…she would probably make it to him, first. She likely already had a rescue plan in the works - or at least, he hoped she did. Nya was a lot smarter than he was when it came to these things, and her luck was historically better than his, anyways.

Plus, she had Skylor and Pix and the others. If there was anyone Lloyd could count on getting past Garmadon, it was them.

He just hoped they could get there before the Sons of Garmadon had another go at him like they did back at the warehouse. Because as much as Lloyd had healed from everything that went down with Garmadon…he really hadn't.

You could only crash through a wall so many times without wrecking the better part of your back, apparently. And that weirdly specific spot in his right shoulder-

 _You're fine_ , he told himself, staring up at the foggy night sky. He was – well, he was going to be fine.

Eventually.

Lloyd's vision blurred as the night dragged on, boredom warring with the panicked need to escape. (Not that he could. He had already tried picking the lock once - the guards were alarmingly attentive to his every move. He liked that wrist, too.)

He pulled his knees closer to his chest, trying to block the distant sounds of the city out as he closed his eyes. He very much doubted he would be able to get any sleep, but if he wanted to be firing at all cylinders when it came to escaping, he should at least _try_ -

The quiet sound of footsteps approached from the palace, and Lloyd's eyes snapped open. He immediately bit back a groan as he caught sight of the figure. _Of course._

Lousy, lousy luck.

Harumi stopped just in the middle of the courtyard, mere inches away from the cracked ruins of the altar. She said nothing, which was a little unnerving. She just stared at him, her eyes cold and unreadable, which was a _lot_ unnerving. He could practically feel her eyes raking over him, studying him in a way that left his skin crawling.

How on _earth_ had he missed that she was playing him? Scratch that, how did she go years pretending to be the innocent princess? Subtlety hadn't really seemed her specialty, lately, but maybe she'd just worn it all out.

"Quiet One," one of the guards finally snapped to attention, having caught sight of Harumi's silent form.

Harumi's eyes flicked briefly back to Lloyd again, before settling on the guards. "I require a moment with the prisoner alone," she said, her voice smooth. "Leave us."

Lloyd felt his stomach drop. _That_ couldn't mean anything good.

The other guard looked hesitant. "Emperor Garmadon personally ordered us not to let him out of our sight, no matter what."

"And now his first in command is ordering you otherwise," Harumi snapped. "Plans change."

The guards exchanged looks. Harumi visibly bit back a snarl of frustration. Despite the circumstances, Lloyd felt a bitter grin pull at his mouth. So much for her loyal followers.

"Emperor Garmadon himself allows it," Harumi finally ground out. "Or do you want me to report you to him for disrespecting me? For failing to follow orders?"

One of the guards visibly winced. "No, that's not necessary," he said, hastily. "Apologies, Quiet One. We're leaving."

The guard spared Lloyd a look as he followed his companion, his grin mocking. "Have fun."

Lloyd glared at his back, fighting back the sinking feeling as the guards left. Great. It was just him and Harumi alone again, his favorite place to be. Half of him wondered if this wasn't just a last-ditch attempt to stab him herself with that knife she'd been waving at him every given opportunity.

The other half of him, the stupid, traitorous part, wondered why she _hadn't_ stabbed him yet, when she'd had so many opportunities.

He probably didn't want to know, Lloyd decided.

Harumi watched the guard disappear before finally moving, her steps slow and measured as she made her way over to him. She ran her hand purposefully across the cracked altar, the one Lloyd had been so _sure_ they'd stopped the resurrection at. Her gloved fingertips came away dark with ash, and she rubbed them together disinterestedly.

Lloyd wrapped his own fingers around the bars, fighting back the growing sense of anxiety building in his gut. Harumi's silence was almost as bad as her monologuing was.

"So, you're finally back where you belong. Powerless and imprisoned at my hand, just like you deserve."

But not by much.

Lloyd narrowed his eyes at her. "Do you really think it's at _your_ hand?" he said. "We both know you're not in charge here, Harumi. Don't delude yourself."

"The only one with delusions here is you," she snarled, but Lloyd could tell he'd hit a nerve. _Good_.

"Your little rebellion, your pathetic friends, your idiotic belief in the _power of the people_ ," Harumi continued, regaining her general awfulness. "And here you are, right back where you started. Well done, Green Ninja."

"My 'pathetic' friends seem to have escaped you for, what is this, the third time now?" Lloyd said, shoving the sting from her words down. "I'd be pretty worried about that, if I were you. They're not gonna look as pathetic when you're on the chopping block for letting me get away, _again_."

Harumi scowled. "You're going to die at the end of the week," she said, sliding her fingers over the edge of her knife. "I don't really think you're in a place to making threats, now are you?"

Lloyd grit his teeth. "One week to escape, then. I've had closer deadlines."

"Again, delusional," Harumi snapped. "How many lucky breaks do you think you have left? Your friends have abandoned you, your powers are gone, your own _father's_ condemned you to death. You have no one, _nothing_ , why are even still pretending-"

Harumi suddenly cut herself off, her expression contorting - and she stepped back, almost deflating.

Lloyd, who had been in the midst of trying to form a comeback that didn't make it sound like she'd hit almost every weak point he'd had, blinked in surprise.

"I didn't come down here to gloat in your humiliating defeat," Harumi finally said. "I - I need-" She looked infuriated with herself, spitting the words out as if she was chewing on poison.

Lloyd stared at her, completely at a loss. Harumi seemed as if she was working herself up to hack her own arm off, or something equally unpleasant. It was an expression he hadn't seen on her before, and certainly hadn't expected to _now_. What could she possibly be forcing herself to say - or not say - to him that hurt _her?_

Harumi lived to cause _him_ extreme discomfort, not the other way around.

Harumi finally took a deep breath, her eyes flicking briefly up to the foggy night sky. They returned to meet his own, freezing him in place with the intensity of her stare. Lloyd unconsciously held his breath.

"I need your-"

A thundering crash suddenly echoed through the courtyard, cutting Harumi off with a cry as Lloyd's teeth rattled at the unexpected disturbance. The earth shuddered violently beneath them, sending Harumi stumbling across the ground and Lloyd crashing against the bars as rubble rained down from above them. Harumi's head snapped up, her eyes wide in disbelief at the Colossi looming over them, stumbling its way toward the city streets.

Her expression turned to outraged fury, and she flicked her radio on, shrieking in anger. "What the _hell_ is he doing? Order the Colossi to move, I'm right in it's path-"

Harumi was forced to cut off and take cover with a scream as the Colossi took another step, crushing part of the palace. There was yelling from beyond the far end of the courtyard, and Lloyd could see the Sons of Garmadon pouring out toward the street.

 _Attacking_ , he thought dizzily, as the cage swung wildly. Fear crept up in his throat as he thought of Nya and the others. _They're attacking, they must've found them-_

He didn't have any more time to process that thought, because the stone titan's path took it right across the Temple of Resurrection, putting both Lloyd and Harumi directly in its line of fire.

Harumi was still yelling angrily into her radio, one arm sheltering her head as she cowered beneath an overturned column. Lloyd didn't understand why she hadn't left yet - the only one in real danger here was _him_ , about to die a week early in some stupid cage because his father was a careless _moron_.

The Colossi took another staggering step over them, miraculously missing the temple this time. Lloyd watched, wide-eyed, as its heavy step crushed the walkway, the fragile stone giving way and sending the Colossi stumbling into the river. The titan barely regained its footing, but not before it knocked against the edge of the temple, sending splintered wood and stone falling -

-right onto the gears holding the cage chain, where it promptly crushed the whole blasted thing.

Lloyd had a millisecond to curse whatever relative was responsible for letting him inherit such hideous luck, before the cage dropped abruptly, the chain screeching as it plummeted toward the river.

He looked up, his eyes locking with Harumi's wide ones for a heartbeat.

Then the chain ran out, and the cage splashed into the water, sending Loyd slamming against the bars as it began to sink.

He managed to grab one last, gasping breath before the water rushed over his head, sending him into the freezing darkness. The cage sank quickly, pulling him deeper and deeper into the river until it crashed against the bottom, Lloyd's teeth jarring from the impact. Silt blackened the water as it was kicked up, surrounding him in a murky haze and temporarily blinding him.

Panic seized his chest.

 _Fine, it was fine, he wasn't dead yet-_

Reorienting himself, Lloyd forced himself to focus, squinting in the murky dimness as the lights above began to shine through. He traced his finger over the bars quickly, sliding them down until he hit the rounding edge that must be the lock. Lloyd twisted his fingers around it, straining.

There was no budge, the lock firmly in place. Lloyd furiously ran a hand over his gi, the fabric weightless in the water. There had to be something, anything with a sharp edge he could use-

Lloyd's hand finally latched onto the metal buckle of an armor piece, and he viciously tore it free, clutching it tightly as he slid it against the lock, searching for the keyhole in the dark water.

Lloyd's heart dropped.

Whether the impact destroyed it or it was crushed before it fell, the lock was busted, twisted and mangled beyond repair, the keyhole useless. Which meant it probably wouldn't be opening anytime soon.

 _No, no, no -_

Lloyd yanked desperately at the bars, straining against them as his lungs started to burn. _Please_ , he prayed, reaching out half-hysterically to whatever dubiously divine relatives he might have left that didn't hate him. _Please, not yet, not now, not like this-_

The water above him distorted, rippling outward, and Lloyd glanced up, half-blinded by bubbles. Unable to make out anything in the murky water, he turned his attention back to the lock, hoping he'd missed something.

He immediately jolted back so hard he nearly hit himself on the cage, a choked scream escaping him before he remembered that he needed to be holding his breath right now.

Harumi was before him, her white hair fanning around her like a halo suspended in the water, her eyes narrowed on the lock. She grabbed onto the bars, pulling at the lock briefly with her own fingers. Lloyd stared at her in utter confusion. What was she doing?

Surely, she wasn't trying to _save_ him-

Harumi's eyes flicked up, briefly meeting his. Lloyd was unable to pick up on any sort of emotion before she turned back to the lock, her jaw clenching as she pulled back on the bars. Finally snapping back to himself, Lloyd braced himself against the same area, pushing out. The cage shuddered from the force, creaking slightly, but there was no give.

Harumi's eyes met his again, and she let go of the bars. She shook her head, then pushed up, kicking back to the surface. Lloyd bit back a scream. What had he expected?

He slammed against the bars one last time with a a choked screech, his brain going foggy as his vision blurred.

What a stupid way to go out. His grandfather definitely hated him.

 _I'm so sorry, Nya,_ Lloyd thought, defeated misery suffocating him as he was finally forced to take a gasp of river water, black spots exploding behind his eyes, the water an icy sort of burn where it flooded his lungs and choked him.

He felt his limbs go slack as the water suspend him, floating weightlessly as a merciful unconsciousness took him.

It could have just been his vision fading out, but Lloyd thought he saw a flash of white before the world went black.

* * *

"You're not supposed to be here."

Lloyd blinked, squinting as he forced his eyes open against the low light. A hazy sort of consciousness seeped through him, and he realized that he was standing, firmly on his feet in a darkened, misty blackness, water pooling around his feet.

Lloyd stared at the murky water, watching as it started rising slowly around him. He took a breath, confused to find that his lungs filled with air. It was weird, because…because…

"Why are you here?"

The voice yanked Lloyd out of his thoughts, and he looked up. The air immediately _whooshed_ right back out of his lungs.

Morro was floating in front of him, dark hair and yellow-green eyes and every inch the ghostly specter that had haunted Lloyd's nightmares since that awful time with the Preemiment.

The only reason Lloyd didn't react in sudden, violent panic, was because he felt a bit like he was horribly drunk, which didn't make sense, because he had never even _been_ drunk, he just felt very, very, dizzy-

"Snap _out_ of it, answer me!" Morro looked almost panicked, as if he couldn't understand what was happening, and he didn't like it. "You're not supposed to be here, why are you here? Are you dead?"

Lloyd stared at Morro for a minute, swaying as the water pooled around his ankles. "I - dunno," he mumbled. He looked at his hands. Was he?

Morro glided behind his back, floating over the water as his outline flickered the dim light. He materialized back in front of Lloyd, who nearly lost his balance.

"Stay _back_ -"

"No, not yet, you wouldn't sound like that." Morro's eyes flashed, and he almost sounded…relieved. "You're just on your way out fast." His eyes narrowed. "What did you do?"

Lloyd rubbed his eyes, watching as the water crept steadily toward his kneecaps, his vision blurring. "I didn't," he said. "She did. Couldn't get out."

"Get out of what?"

Lloyd stared at the odd flickering of light across the water, wondering why everything was so hazy. His head felt off-kilter, as if he'd ridden a roller coaster too many times, or hung upside-down too long.

"Wake up, idiot!" Morro's voice snapped him back to the present, tight and angry as it was. "Get out of what?"

"Cage," Lloyd said, vaguely. "Locked me in a cage. You did that once."

Morro rolled his eyes, drifting back a bit. "Never mind that _now_ \- you're in a cage? Is that why you're dying? Are you hurt?"

Lloyd shook his head. "Underwater. It's locked." He frowned. "I think I'm drowning."

"No _duh_ , genius-" Morro broke off. He shook his head, his eyes hardening. "Okay, fine. I can work with that."

Lloyd ignored him, staring at the water sloshing around his legs, wondering why it felt so cold now. Where had all this water come from, anyways?

"You have to let me back in, though."

 _That_ caught Lloyd's attention.

"Wait, what?"

He looked up. Morro was reaching toward him, his ghostly hand inches from Lloyd's arm. Lloyd flinched back violently, staggering in the water that was now just below his waist.

"No, no, don't-" he gasped out, his voice thin with panic.

Morro drew his hand back, an odd flurry of expressions crossing his face, almost like regret. "Not like _that_ ," he said, but his voice was a bit gentler. "I can get you out. I - if you let me in, I can break you free from wherever, I can - I can save you."

Lloyd stared at him, his mouth slightly parted in utter confusion. _Huh?_

"But you have to _let_ me," Morro said, urgently. "It won't work otherwise, and the water'll just kill me - again."

Lloyd blinked owlishly at him. Let…Morro back in? _Willingly?_ How stupid would he have to be? The second he was in, he'd probably just drown Lloyd out again, shoving him down to the dark recesses of his mind as he used his body to wreak even more havoc.

"I wouldn't!" Morro hissed, but his eyes were heavy in guilt. "I swear, I won't, I won't even really be in your body, I can just control it from here - the minute you wake up, you can kick me out!"

Lloyd shook his head weakly, vaguely noting the water now splashing above his waist.

"I swear," Morro repeated, his expression almost open, vulnerable. "I swear on my word as an elemental master, I swear on the green gi, I'll swear on anything you give me. I won't drown you out. Just let me save you from _actually drowning._ "

There was something off here, Lloyd thought. Like a catch, or something. There was something weird about the offer, he just couldn't think of what it was-

"Come on!" Morro burst out in frustration, as the water pooled around Lloyd's chest. "Just take my hand already! Don't you want to live?"

 _Do I?_ Lloyd questioned, dizzily. Going back meant going back to chains. Going back to a father who hated him - who wanted to kill him. It meant going back to pain and powerlessness.

Lloyd struggled to think clearly. He felt like he had already drowned, his thoughts filtering through like molasses.

"Damnit, Lloyd!"

Lloyd blinked rapidly at the sound of his name. Morro sounded so frustrated, for some reason. It was odd - it was like he actually cared whether Lloyd lived or died.

Oh! There it was.

"Why d'you even care?" Lloyd said, squinting at him. "You don't care whether I die or not. You never did."

"I _do_ care, you just-" Morro broke off, hissing. "I owe you one, and I can't help you when you're _dead_ \- just take my hand, I can get you out! You have to go back - you've got people waiting for you, right? What about your friend? The stupid red one, the one that's always yelling after you? What about him, huh?"

"Kai," Lloyd murmured, as the water reached his throat. Kai _would_ be angry if Lloyd let himself die, wouldn't he? He'd be leaving the rest of the guys, too. His mom, Skylor, Pixal, the others.

He'd be leaving them all to Garmadon.

And he'd be leaving Nya all alone. That wasn't fair to her. He promised.

Lloyd looked up at Morro, meeting his eyes just as the water reached his chin, splashing up over his mouth. Morro watched him in near-anguished panic, his hand still reaching desperately toward him, straining out over the rising water.

Slowly lifting his own hand, Lloyd reached back.

Not that he'd know it at the time, but he took Morro's hand just as Harumi broke the lock on the cage in half.


	4. Chapter 4

**Oof, sorry this is so horribly late - I've been working on something for December, and it's taking a lot out of me. Once I get that wrapped up, though, the plan is to actually focus on the two fics I already have (and ignore the many oneshots I may or may not have started).**

 **Anyways, we're crashing straight into AU, dubious-interpretation-of-established-Ninjago-canon with a heavy dose of this-works-so-it's-real-here territory, yeah! I've gotta get them to work together without killing each other _somehow_.**

 **Thank you to everyone who takes the time to review - I can say this a hundred times and a hundred times more, but it really does make the biggest difference in the world, and I can't thank you guys enough!**

* * *

Lloyd came to with a burst of pain in his chest, followed immediately by the worst headache he'd ever had in his life.

Memory came next, along with the sudden reminder that he needed to _breathe_.

Lloyd burst out coughing, bracing himself on his elbows as he choked and sputtered. Water streamed from his mouth, his nose, _everywhere_ as he shuddered, hacking and wheezing in what had to be a pathetic display as he tried to replace the water in his lungs with _air, thank FSM, air-_

After a good minute of coughing, Lloyd felt a surge of relief as he inhaled, slowly coming back to himself as he continued to gasp, little by little becoming conscious of the world again. His vision was finally starting to clear, too, and he got about two seconds of relief before it was suddenly drowned out by a crippling wave of vertigo, almost-foreign emotion slamming into him seemingly out of nowhere. Alarm surged through him, and Lloyd abruptly realized that it _was_ foreign emotion - only half of it was from him.

 ** _This isn't right, what did you do, what did you do-!_**

Morro's voice cried in dizzying panic in Lloyd's mind, pounding on repeat against his skull. Lloyd almost stopped breathing again, panicked terror flooding him. Morro's voice was _in his mind_ , loud and just as clear as it had been when he'd possessed him the first time-

There was a terrible moment when he thought Morro was taking over, choking Lloyd out and tearing control from him - but then he suddenly felt Morro pulling back as if burned. The emotions dulled down to a muted buzz, undeniably still there, but quiet enough that Lloyd could hear himself think.

Not that it helped much. Still caught in the haze of terror, Lloyd frantically flexed his fingers. The relief that hit him when his fingers obeyed him nearly had him sick again.

 _Not possessed, not possessed, he was still in control-_

His shoulders still trembling as his breathing evened out the slightest bit, Lloyd squeezed his eyes shut tight, trying to will the ache in his chest away. Water slowly dripped from his hair into his eyes, and he wiped awkwardly at them, blinking the sting away as he looked up.

Oh, that was a mistake - he could kiss relief goodbye forever now.

Harumi was on the ground just in front of him, bracing her hands on her knees as she breathed heavily. Her white hair hung in a dripping, tangled mass around her shoulders, and her makeup was smeared, red and black streaks dripping down her face in a messy collage.

Lloyd reacted instinctively, and kicked her in the face.

"-the _hell!_ " Harumi howled, doubling over and clutching at her nose. The kick wasn't as hard as it could've been - Lloyd still couldn't get himself to stop shaking - but it was no less effective.

He scrambled back as Harumi cradled her face, trying to put as much distance between them as he could. Morro was now cursing at somebody - **_double-crossing fool with a god complex_** \- in his mind, and it was taking every last ounce of his sanity to ignore him. Trying to focus before he got horribly murdered by Harumi, or something, Lloyd's hands desperately roamed the slippery ground for something, _anything_ he could put between them - stick, that was a stick, he could use that, maybe- ?

Harumi finally looked up at him, her eyes murderous. But instead of attacking him, trying to slit his throat or strangle him or - _whatever_ she inevitably had planned for him - Harumi hissed venomously instead.

"What was _that_ for?!"

Lloyd couldn't help it - he laughed, edged in hysteria. "You're _kidding_ me," he rasped. "Take everything you've done to me in the past month and _pick_ one."

Harumi seethed. "After what I just did _-_ "

"You just tried to drown me!" Lloyd cried, indignantly.

"No, you _idiot_ ," Harumi snarled, her eyes flashing. "I just _saved_ your worthless life!"

Lloyd's retort died on his lips. He blinked at her. Morro's voice was still fuming loudly in his mind, crowding his thoughts and jumbling them up (he really needed to deal with that, really _really_ needed to deal with that, but he couldn't now, not with _her_ -), so it was unreasonably hard to think straight, but-

Lloyd glanced at the water, than back up at the still-soaking Harumi. Then to the battered remains of the lock in her hand.

Morro hadn't gotten him out. He might have tried, but there had been that sudden jerk first, his eyes going wide as they were both pulled up, and-

Oh. Well that...that sucked. If there was anyone worse to be indebted to than _Morro_ -

Lloyd stared at her, his harsh breathing unnaturally loud in the sudden quiet. Harumi stared back, her gaze challenging.

"Huh," Lloyd finally decided on, before leaning over and trying to hack up whatever water was left in his lungs. He immediately cringed as his chest throbbed in pain, and he clapped a hand over it, hissing at the ache.

"What'd you do t'me, anyways?" he managed, trying not to start coughing again.

Harumi glared. "CPR," she muttered. "You were drowned, you know."

Lloyd blinked, her words registering. He stared at her. Harumi stared back.

Lloyd tried very hard not to scrub a hand furiously across his lips.

Harumi seemed to catch the meaning anyways. "Not like - _gah_ , you _idiot_ , next time I'll let you drown!"

Lloyd tried to glare at her, but was rudely interrupted as he was forced to turn away, another watery cough racking him. Harumi's expression tightened a bit, her eyes careful.

"You aren't about to drop dead, are you?" she said. "You weren't under for that long, so you shouldn't have gone brain dead, but since you're pathetically weak as it is-"

"I'm fine," Lloyd bit out. "I bounce back fast." It wasn't technically a lie - he felt horrible, but the fuzzy dizziness had cleared a lot more now, and his head didn't hurt quite as terribly. He looked back up at her.

"Why-" Lloyd swallowed. He wasn't entirely sure he wanted the answer to this question, but he needed it. He needed _some_ reassurance that death wasn't going to swoop back in and try to claim him again.

 ** _Not while I'm here, it won't, curse everything-_**

Lloyd firmly shoved Morro back into the recesses of his mind. _Later_ , he told himself, fighting back panic. _Later_.

"Why did you save me?" he finally said, forcing himself to meet her gaze.

Harumi looked away, her jaw tight as a flurry of expressions crossed her face. She had that same look she'd had on earlier, as if she was forcing herself to swallow poison. "I-"

Shouts echoed from behind the palace, clattering footsteps sounding from beyond the wreckage left by the Colossi. Harumi's head snapped back to him, her eyes widening.

"They can't find you," she hissed suddenly, grabbing his arm in a vice-like grip.

Lloyd barely had time to blink before she yanked him to his feet, hauling him after her as she rushed toward the palace. Lloyd stumbled, his head spinning at the sudden motion as nausea flooded his stomach.

"Come _on!_ " Harumi whispered frantically, as the shouts grew nearer.

Lloyd shook the dizziness off, blinking rapidly as he forced himself to follow in Harumi's footsteps. He tried to pry her hand off his arm as they ran, seething. Her hand only tightened, her nails digging through the fabric of his gi and into his skin as she dragged him along the side of the palace, weaving her way through the loose stones.

"Here," she suddenly stopped at the base of one of the walls. "Climb, climb, hurry-"

Lloyd didn't follow. Instead, he paused, his head turning as he glanced back, out over one of the half-destroyed walls. He could just glimpse the city beyond it - see the stuttering, dying streetlights left by the destructive path of the Colossi, hear the blare of sirens and screams.

Nya was out there. His friends were out there. If he could get beyond the wall, maybe he could-

" _Move_ , idiot!"

Shadowy outlines appeared from around the corner, and Lloyd cursed under his breath, pulling himself up hand over hand after Harumi. He was going to regret this, he was going to regret this _so_ badly. But he couldn't fight off half her guards right now - as much as he hated to admit it, without his powers, he was at a horrible disadvantage.

 _Useless_ , his brain reminded him.

Lloyd had barely reached the window before Harumi's hand shot out, snagging him by the front of his gi and dragging him inside. He tumbled to the floor with an undignified yelp.

" _Hey_ -"

"Quiet," she hissed, her eyes alert as she scanned the empty hallway they were in. "They could come at any second."

Lloyd made an expression of utter frustration at her back, but continued to follow her, eyeing the walls of the palace warily. Morro was seething quietly in his mind now, but he was mercifully less aggressive than before. Lloyd could barely feel him now, just the ghost of a presence in his mind.

 ** _Make another smart comment about me and I'll run you into the wall._**

Lloyd accidentally bit his tongue hard enough to taste blood, and Morro recoiled, sinking back. Harumi stopped them at a corner, leaning her head around. After a brief pause, she motioned at Lloyd to follow her, leading them silently through the darkened hallways of the Jade Palace. Despite the explosion she'd caused, Lloyd was surprised to see how much of the palace was left intact.

Apparently, blowing up the Emperor and Empress was all Harumi had really aimed to do. That was a pleasant thought.

The low murmur of voices reached them from behind, and Harumi gave a quiet curse, quickening her pace as she led them further to the center of the palace. She finally stopped in front of an ornately painted wall, fumbling with something. There was a click, and Lloyd blinked - it wasn't a wall after all. It was a door, and Harumi had just unlocked it, pushing the sliding panel open and gesturing sharply at him to enter.

With the voices now just around the corner, Lloyd had no choice. He slipped into the room, Harumi just behind him, and she carefully slid the door closed again, leaning briefly against it and exhaling. Looking around, Lloyd immediately noted that the hidden room had no windows, as it was instead located smack in the depths of the palace. There were no doors either, other than the one Harumi had led them in.

 _Fantastic_. He'd just let himself be led into another prison.

They both remained silent, barely breathing, as the voices passed them, footsteps dangerously close to the door. After a few moments, the voices finally trailed off to silence, their tromping steps disappearing into another hallway, and Lloyd and Harumi both exhaled.

Harumi immediately whirled around, pinning him in place with an icy glare. "I'm going to buy us time," she said. "Stay here, and if anyone tries to open the door, hide."

Lloyd blanched. He had about a hundred and ten questions for her, she couldn't just _leave_ him here without explaining, in the middle of-

Harumi opened the door again, paused, then turned back to him. Her glare grew even icier, if possible.

"If you even try to escape, you die," she said, her voice acidic enough to strip the paint from the walls. "Believe me, this place is crawling with guards. You won't get far."

With that, she slammed the door closed before Lloyd could form any sort of response. His heart sank as he heard the sound of the lock sliding into place - from the outside.

For a minute, he stood motionless in place, crippling exhaustion warring with coursing adrenaline in a dizzying sensation as he swayed slightly.

He finally blinked, coming back to himself.

"Okay," he breathed, taking two steps back. He hit the far wall, crumpling against it and sliding to the floor, his knees drawn up to his chest. "Okay."

He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath and reminding himself that he was, in fact, alive and no longer drowning. He took another steadying breath, and finally forced himself to confront the terrifying elephant in the room. Or rather, the elephant in his mind.

 ** _That was terrible, even coming from you._**

Lloyd jerked up abruptly, eyes flying open in panic.

 ** _Calm down, I'm not-_**

Morro's reassurances didn't help. Lloyd doubled over, clutching his chest as his vision swam. _Breathe_ , his mind cried uselessly at him. Which wasn't even the problem, he _was_ breathing, he was just breathing too _fast_ -

 _Get out, get out, GET OUT-_

 ** _I'm trying!_** Morro's frustrated cry echoed in his mind, and Lloyd vaguely felt a slight spark of surprise as he noted the panic in _his_ voice. ** _It's too loud, I can't - your stupid brain is trying to kill us both!_**

Lloyd was on his knees now, one hand fisted in his gi just over his chest, the other barely bracing himself on the floor. He wheezed, trying to quell the awful terror sweeping him.

 _He was fine, he was fine, he was still in control, he was-_

 _Panicking_. He was having a stupid panic attack, that was all. How - how did he deal with these again? He tried to picture Kai, tried to recall the steadying sensation of his hand on his back as he spoke calmly to him.

 _Count it out, green machine. Match my breathing and count it out._

Lloyd gave a choking sob of misery, before taking a heaving, shuddery breath.

 _One._

He kept counting steadily, the awful tightness in his shoulders easing up as his breathing slowly shuddered back into something that resembled normal. He swiped a trembling hand across his eyes, humiliated at the wetness he found there.

 ** _Okay, that's better. I think I can-_**

There was a sliding sensation, like someone had frozen his blood and was pulling it out sliver by sliver, and then-

Lloyd fell back, gasping. A weight felt like it had lifted from his chest, and his mind was finally, miraculously clear, free from Morro's presence.

Well, almost.

"You've _got_ to be kidding me."

Morro stood just across from him, his skin flickering in that same eerie glow it had the first time he'd showed up. Oddly enough, the glow seemed to be sputtering, as if Morro was briefly going from corporeal to incorporeal every other second. He stared at his hands in consternation, looking from himself to Lloyd.

"No," he muttered, furiously. "No, no, no-"

Morro slammed his hand against a nearby table, and Lloyd flinched back. A solid _thunk_ echoed through the room, and they both blinked in surprised. Morro's eyes narrowed in concentration, and his hand glimmered, wavering in the light. It dipped just through the table, before the glimmer sparked out, forcing his hand back up.

Morro's expression contorted in panic. He looked at Lloyd, who was crumpled on the floor, still marveling that he was breathing normally. Morro's eyebrows scrunched up in consternation.

"I think we're in trouble," he said, and Lloyd was, once again, surprised to hear the waver in his voice.

"W-why?" he croaked, figuring that this couldn't mean anything good.

Morro shook his head. "I think - we might've just crossed our souls."

* * *

There was _one_ good thing about Lloyd deciding to kick her in the face right after rescuing him - it gave Harumi a believable cover for where she'd been when the city's most wanted individual had disappeared.

"I was hit by debris, likely placed by some careless worker," she sneered, even while wincing through what she was sure were darkening bruises. "The impact knocked me unconscious. By the time I had awoken, the cage had been knocked free, and the prisoner had escaped."

Garmadon made a noise of angered frustration. One of Harumi's men cleared his throat, looking nervous.

"We've got the palace grounds surrounded," he said. "All exits have been blocked off. There's no way the prisoner can leave without us seeing."

"Unless he's already slipped free," Garmadon growled. " _Again_."

Harumi was aware of her subordinate desperately trying to meet her eyes. She ignored him. He knew what he was getting into, joining her gang. He ought to know the price that comes with rising the ranks by now.

He finally swallowed, steeling himself. "With all due respect, my lord, I don't believe he's left the palace grounds. The exits were swarming when the Colossi came through, someone would have seen him."

Garmadon took a careful, measured step forward. Sweat lined the sides of her subordinate's face.

"For your sake," Garmadon said, his voice brimming with malice. "I hope you're right." The man trembled, and Garmadon straightened. "I want every path to the city watched. You will hunt down my son without rest until he is found."

"Yes, my lord." With a last glance at Harumi, the man practically fled the room, doors clattering behind him. Harumi felt a brief flare of longing to follow him out. Now there was no one to distract Garmadon from her, and while she doubted he suspected anything yet…

There _was_ the fact that she was currently committing the worst act of treason against him by keeping Lloyd stashed away.

Not that she'd given him any reason to suspect her. Harumi was a lot of things, but she wasn't _sloppy_. It was easy enough to come up with a convincing story. The Colossi's destruction alone had left plenty of possibilities for Lloyd's escape, and as the cage was sitting at the bottom of the river, no one could prove what had happened there, either.

Harumi had been sure to chuck the broken pieces of the lock far, far into the dark waters of the river before she'd left, though.

After that, it was simply a matter of spinning her own sob story as carefully as possible. Lloyd was locked well in the depths of the palace, in a room few would ever even know was there. As long as the pieces stayed in place and she kept her mask on, she would be fine.

Harumi had to stop herself from snorting. All this trouble, for _him_. If Lloyd ended up actually trying to escape, she was going to run him through.

…she did hope he wouldn't get himself killed, though. He had a rather remarkable ability to continuously walk the fine line between life and sudden, horrible death while still surviving, so it would be _terribly_ inconvenient if he decided to slip off to death side when she needed him.

She wouldn't put it past him, though. If there was one thing Lloyd was good at, it was being a plan-complicating pain in the neck.

"So, you were knocked unconscious before Lloyd escaped," Garmadon finally spoke up, jolting Harumi from her thoughts. "And it was then that the Colossi broke the cage?"

"I would assume so, my lord," Harumi said, trying not to sound bitter. "It was practically on top of us."

It had taken every ounce of her self-control not to viciously blame the entire thing on Garmadon himself. Because it _was_ his fault - he had been the one to send the Colossi stomping through with no real direction. If it hadn't been for her, Lloyd would be dead at Garmadon's own carelessness.

Not that it should grieve him all that much, she thought, but he did still seem to be having that annoying quandary about Lloyd. For someone who'd disowned him and sentenced him to death, Garmadon seemed to care a lot about keeping his pathetic _son_ in reach.

"And tell me, why was it that you decided to banish the guards just before then?" Garmadon continued, his voice icy cold.

Harumi stiffened. _Curse_ the stupid guards, how could she have forgotten those loose ends? Sloppy, careless work-

"I…ah, I'm ashamed, my lord," she murmured, sweat beading at the back of her neck. Other than that, she was careful not to let the slightest sign of her sudden falter show. "I had hoped that some of Lloyd's pathetic affection for me might still remain, and that…if I talked to him alone, he could be convinced to give me the location of the remaining resistance members."

She ducked her head, shame written across her face. "I regret that I failed. I should have anticipated the Colossi's approach. I apologize, my lord."

Garmadon said nothing, studying her with glowing eyes. Harumi's mouth was slowly going dry, but she kept her composure. She felt nothing but regret for having lost Lloyd, she reminded herself. Nothing but shame for her inability to get answers from him. Certainly, she would never have stowed him away, practically beneath their very feet-

Harumi cut that thought off. It was better to immerse herself in the lie.

Garmadon finally looked away, looking just the slightest bit less cold. "It was foolish of you to confront him on your own, much less without my approval," he said. "Next time, come to me first."

"Yes, my lord," Harumi said, keeping her head down.

"Your enmity toward him serves you well," Garmadon said. "I am trusting you to use that, and to find him and bring him back to me once more."

Harumi nodded. "Of course," she said, her tone nothing but compliant. "I will not rest until I've found him. You have my word."

Garmadon's eyes flashed, and he nodded. "You are dismissed, then."

Harumi's head rose. She hardly dared believe her luck - after all his suspicion lately, that was _it?_

She quickly bowed, retreating through the doors. She almost scoffed. Of course he had believed her - Harumi wasn't feared as the Quiet One for nothing.

Her back straightened as she marched through the corridors, her eyes narrowed as she strode past the Sons of Garmadon scurrying around the palace, likely having gotten the word. She paid them little notice, her mind already racing. The heightened security would complicate things, but it was nothing she hadn't anticipated. No one knew the palace like her, much less its secret rooms and passages. She would figure something out.

She turned the corner, making for her room. Her jaw worked as she swept toward her bed, quickly picking out the last of her scrolls. No, escaping the palace wouldn't be the hard part. Having a civil conversation with Lloyd, much less convincing him to - _ugh_ \- help her?

 _That_ was going to be fun.

* * *

Lloyd was honestly starting to be impressed at how much _worse_ this day kept getting.

"What does that even _mean?_ " Lloyd wailed at Morro, throwing his arms up. "Crossed our souls? I don't want your soul in mine! Get it out!"

"I don't want mine in yours, either!" Morro hissed. "But we're stuck, look-"

Morro's eyes creased in concentration, and the glow around him briefly flared, as if he was pulling against some invisible tether-

Lloyd yelped as a sudden, sharp pain flared in the center of his chest. "Stop!"

Morro relented, rubbing at his own chest, his expression furious. "See? We're - we're linked, somehow, this _wasn't_ part of the plan-"

Lloyd stared blankly at Morro as he continued to rant, pacing around the room furiously. Half of him wanted to do the same, but the other half of him was simply so utterly exhausted, it was all he could do to keep sitting on the floor with his hand against his chest, trying not to panic again.

Morro finally paused, stomping back over to Lloyd. "Your stupid mortality is even affecting me," he growled. He waved his hand in Lloyd's face. "Look at this - I can barely even phase anymore! You infected me with your - your alive-ness!"

Lloyd stared at Morro's hand as it flickered again, the ghostly aura blinking unsteadily as if it was short-circuiting. "H-how?" Lloyd finally managed. "How did this - I thought you - you knew what you were doing. You told me - this was _you_ , not me! You're the one who-"

"I know!" Morro snapped, but his aggression ebbed, giving way to the same look of frightened exhaustion Lloyd knew had to be written across his own face. "I-I'm not really sure what happened," Morro admitted. "He told me - I should've been able to just-"

He ran his hand through his hair in aggravation, flickering green briefly.

"Okay," he breathed. "You took my hand when you were in a…pretty dead state, so we should've made the temporary connection just fine. I was going to get you out, and then I _should_ have been able to slip back into the Departed Realm, where I'm supposed to be."

"Okay," Lloyd said, nervously. "So what happened?"

Morro's expression contorted in anger. "Your girlfriend snapped you back to the living realm before I could disconnect, which, _apparently_ , must have dragged me back too-"

"She is _not_ my girlfriend," Lloyd cut in, viciously.

Morro blinked. "Wow. You sound like you hate her more than you do me." His eyes narrowed in curiosity. "What'd she even do?"

"None of your business, that's for sure," Lloyd bit out.

"Fair enough," Morro shrugged. "I'll probably just steal it from your mind when you're sleeping."

 _"_ _No!"_ Lloyd fought back the swell of panic, swallowing. Control, he reminded himself, he needed to be in control. "So you got us…what, tangled up? And we're _stuck_ together now?!"

"I…I'm not entirely sure." Morro sounded unsure of himself, in a way Lloyd was wildly unfamiliar with. His previous experience with Morro was pretty much the opposite, mostly accompanied by relentless mockery. "I've never - this isn't something I've ever seen happen. It wasn't _supposed_ to happen. But I _do_ know that we're connected now, and I don't know how to disconnect us."

Lloyd was having a harder time fighting back panic. "Oh no," he moaned, tangling his hands tightly in his hair. "Oh, this is - this is really bad. You - _why_. Ruining my life _again_."

"Well, it's not like things were much better when I found you," Morro snapped. "You're not dead, so that's something."

"Oh sure, now I'm just stuck with _you_ , in the home of somebody else who wants me dead, and - oh no, you're probably going to get along fantastically, you and her," Lloyd said, frustrated anger finally breaking through. "How am I supposed to get out of this _now?_ It was bad enough that my own dad wants me - _gah_ , and Nya's still out there, he sent the Colossi after her, and I'm just- I'm-"

Lloyd broke off, burying his face in his hands. He wanted to die again. Or maybe just burst into tears, but in front of Morro, he'd take dying first.

"Uh…look," Morro said, hesitantly. "I don't really care about…whatever you're breaking down about right now. But as long as we're stuck together, I'm going to make sure you stay alive, so you don't have to...freak out about that, or whatever you're trying to do to yourself. Would kinda screw me over if you died."

"Good _luck_ ," Lloyd said, muffled. "Safe" was a state of existence Lloyd was cursed never to reach.

"And I'm going to find a way to break us apart, trust me," Morro said, his eyes flashing. "Being stuck with _you_ is worse than any Cursed Realm."

"The feeling's mutual," Lloyd muttered into his hands.

His fingers tightened against his hair, and Lloyd forced himself to take a deep breath. _Enough_. He was alive, and he was going to stay that way. Nya and the others were still out there, and people were counting on him. This was just…this was just another hiccup he would have to get over. Albeit a terrible, awful, probably-going-to-kill-him hiccup, but…Lloyd had survived worse.

"Okay," he said, finally looking up. "You find a way to split us back apart. I need to find a way to break us out of here."

"Yeah, I was going to say something about that," Morro said. "But I didn't want to interrupt your crippling episode of uselessness."

Lloyd bit his cheek in an urge not to scream. " _Thanks_ for that," he said. He pushed himself to his feet, wobbling slightly before making his way to the door. He slid his fingers over the handle, squinting at the mechanism.

"She was able to bolt it from the outside," Lloyd muttered, remembering the click he'd heard. "What kind of room is this?"

"A prison," Morro said, coming up next to him. "Or something like it." He ran his hand over the door, frowning.

"You can just float through, right?" Lloyd said, glancing at him.

Morro grimaced. "If our connection doesn't ruin it, maybe. I might be able to phase through, but I can only go so far from you before I get yanked back."

"Could you just phase out and unlock the door?"

Morro's blinked, then scowled. "Yeah, I guess that'd work too," he muttered.

His expression tightened in concentration, and Lloyd watched as his outline flickered again, shimmering and sputtering in the lighting before finally turning translucent, Morro's hand sliding through the firm wall.

"That's better," he said, looking relieved. He moved forward, passing further through the wall. "Let me just-"

He suddenly pulled back sharply, giving a whispered curse. "Guards," he said, glaring at Lloyd. "The hallway's crawling with them. What _does_ she have against you, to get her this worked up?"

Lloyd shook his head, not answering. He leaned his head against the wall, fighting back the wave of despair. Why did he feel like his chances had been better at the bottom of the river?

Morro gave an irritated grunt, and he kicked one of the chairs at the table over. Lloyd winced at the clatter, hoping no one outside heard it. Morro finally blew his breath out, stalking back over to Lloyd. Lloyd didn't look up at him, but he could feel Morro's critical gaze, studying him.

"Okay, I'm serious - suck up whatever emotional crisis you have going on already and talk," Morro said. "If I'm stuck with you, I'm going to need to know what crazy make-up girl's deal is."

Lloyd bit his lip. Again, Morro and Harumi meeting was the absolute _last_ thing he needed, ever. They'd get along great, have a lot of laughs torturing him probably-

"She's the princess," Lloyd finally muttered, figuring there was nothing for it. Them meeting was pretty much inevitable at this point, anyways. He might be able to stall it, at best. "Or - ex-princess, I guess. She kind of...resurrected my dad? As an evil psychopath, and now he's hellbent on destroying the entire city. So yeah."

Morro's face screwed up in distaste. "Sounds about right for someone from the royal family," he said. "Bunch of spoiled idiots messing with stuff they don't know anything about."

"That's…actually somewhat accurate," Lloyd admitted. "But I…I messed up, big, in the past. So now she's got a death wish out for me. Or - I thought she did."

"Well, she screwed us over, that's for sure," Morro growled. "What's her game, locking us up here?"

"Locking _me_ up," Lloyd said. "She doesn't even know you're here. Which needs to stay that way."

"Why?" Morro frowned. "Give me one reason we shouldn't just blast her through a wall when she gets back."

"Because I don't have any powers, and we want to get out of here _alive_ ," Lloyd said. "Or - ah, sorry. I do."

Morro rolled his eyes. "Well, do you have a _better_ idea, then?" He suddenly frowned. "Wait, what do you mean, you don't have your powers-"

Lloyd ignored him, glancing up at the rafters that lined the ceiling. "Actually, Morro," he said slowly, the name still strange across his lips in such a calm tone. "I think I have a worse idea."

Morro snorted. "You act like you've ever had a good one."


	5. Chapter 5

***sweats***

 **So uh...here's the thing, eheh. At any given time, I have at least eight word documents open on my laptop, all of which are wips, and so some get worked on while others get...slightly forgotten about...for the time...**

 **ANYWAYS I'm very sorry to have died on this story so long but I'm back now! And I really do have every intention of finishing this, I've just stacked too many multi-chapters on myself and I'm terrible at prioritizing them :''D. I do have a lot of the next chapter written out because it's a fun one though, so hopefully updates won't take nearly a year this time.**

 **But gosh, thank you so much to everyone who's actually stuck with this story! I'm still getting reviews that are so incredibly sweet and encouraging, and most of the reason I came back to this sooner than later. Hope you enjoy this one! (Because I did, Harumi and Lloyd and aggressive snark is one of my favorite things to write.)**

* * *

As much as Harumi liked to be able to claim she'd lived her life with no regrets so far — except for ever wasting adoration on the ninja, of course — she was beginning to second-guess a...few decisions, she happened to have made recently. Just one or two.

And no, one of those regrets was _not_ resurrecting Garmadon. That wasn't — she didn't regret that. She'd put half her life toward bringing the ex-dark lord back as his true self; she'd created an underground army of grizzled bikers, murdered her adoptive parents, played love-struck princess for a week and reduced half of Ninjago City to rubble, she couldn't just go around _regretting_ that. It'd be throwing too much work away.

Harumi's lip curled. As frustrating as it had been, pretending to be Princess Harumi, loving and loyal, she had to admit a part of her missed it, to a certain degree. There was just an _easiness_ in playing the hapless, unassuming princess that being the Quiet One full-time lacked. Not that playing her quiet role had been _easy_ — oh, she'd had to bite her tongue countless times, and the open kindness and _understanding_ she'd met Lloyd with nearly had her sick, but it did tend to make things a lot less difficult.

For example, she missed the days she could convince Lloyd to comply with her wishes by simply kissing his cheek. Now, instead of flustered blushing, she figured he would be more likely to turn right around and stab her.

Not that she would react any differently, to be fair. Stabbing enemies didn't exactly seem Lloyd's style, anyways, she mused, though she'd be wise not to write him off as she had on the train again. Just because he was powerless, it didn't immediately mean he wasn't still a threat.

Still an idiot, though, she thought sourly, rubbing her jaw where it had bruised over. _Lucky hit_. If it hadn't been for her, he'd have been dead two times over by now.

Harumi shook her head, yanking her thoughts away from Lloyd. Her only concern now was getting him to comply with her, not how much of a dead weight he'd be if she couldn't. It would also be wise, she remembered with a chill, to keep a better eye out for Garmadon. He had since retreated to the temple, but that didn't mean he couldn't emerge from any dark corner of the palace at anytime unexpected. And if Garmadon didn't take the opportunity, she still had plenty of other enemies in the form of that annoying resistance. Harumi was confident she'd sent them running with the Colossi, but she wasn't overconfident enough to assume that the Water Ninja, at least, wouldn't try to mount a rescue.

Harumi's lips pressed together. Another thing she was realizing, with an unpleasant sort of twist in her stomach, was that being the Quiet One, against all odds, had now made her more of a target than being the royal princess ever had. Sure, she'd needed a full protection detail once or twice, and it wasn't as if she'd never been targeted as the princess, but…

Well. She'd be stupid if she didn't acknowledge that people were going to go after her with a bit more _vengeance_ after what she'd done as the Quiet One. Lloyd was a prime example, and he was enough. She didn't care to find out what the Water Ninja's vengeance would look like, if she met her face to face now.

Harumi elbowed her way through another corridor, rolling her eyes as the grouped bikers scrambled to move from her path. She'd been forced to take the long way around the palace to get back to the hidden room, to throw Garmadon and anyone else off her tail.

Another reason to keep an eye out, she thought darkly, eyeing Killow where he stood down in the courtyard, his mask glinting where he kept it strapped to his back. Harumi's eyes narrowed. She knew she was running a risk when she'd handed two of the masks over, but at the time, she hadn't had reason to fear. Killow and Ultraviolet were loyal to _her_ , and her alone. Now that Garmadon was here, though…it would be stupid of Harumi to trust that they'd side with her over him. It would be stupid of her to trust _any_ of her men to choose her. If Garmadon truly suspected her right now, she may as well start preparing to find a knife in her back.

 _Let them try, then_ , she seethed to herself. She'd made it this far. Harumi had no intention of falling to anyone now, even if her plans had been forced to derail onto a wildly different track.

Another one of her men came flying down the hall, and Harumi was forced to step aside before he crashed into her. He barely stumbled to the side, eyes widening as they landed on her.

"Apologies, Quiet One," he gasped out, before continuing down the hall. Harumi watched him go, her lips tightening.

Yet another thing she missed from her days as the princess — people keeping themselves _in line_ , where they belonged. The entire palace was going to chaos in fear of Garmadon, terrified of failing his orders. While she couldn't entirely blame them — E's demise had left her shaken as well — it was getting incredibly annoying to watch her previously well-ordered gang running everywhere out of her control.

At least Lloyd would be where she left him, Harumi thought, with a small flare of satisfaction. The secret room she'd locked him in was unknown to anyone outside the royal family, so the chances of discovery were next to none. It was a room Hutchins had shown her when she was much younger — an old war council room, he'd said. The original purpose had been a hiding place for the royal family, or for holding the less…savory meetings, in the past. Occasionally, it had even served as a discreet sort of prison, the kind of one you could shove people in and then send assassins in to kill them from the rafters, or something.

…the royal family's history wasn't exactly clean. It could be said that Harumi was simply following in her ancestors' footsteps — if they were _actually_ her family. At any rate, the room had been reduced to a mere relic of the past, a place Harumi used to hide in when she was younger and she wanted to avoid everyone.

Now it served as a hiding place for the country's most wanted individual. Fitting.

Harumi shook her head, turning down the darkened hallways of the palace. She wasn't looking forward to this confrontation, but the sooner she had it, the better. Garmadon was only going to get more out of control, and she wasn't sure how much longer she could count on any sort of loyalty from her men.

It was _incredibly_ frustrating, she fumed, as she quietly unlocked the hidden door, keeping a careful eye on the empty hallways around her. To have spent all this time recruiting people, just to lose them to Garmadon.

And sure, that had been their overall goal, Harumi admitted to herself, as she stepped into the room, sliding the door shut behind her. But really, after everything she'd don—

Harumi's train of thought was abruptly interrupted as Lloyd unceremoniously dropped down from the ceiling on top of her.

Her surprised shriek was quickly silenced as he wrapped a leg around her throat, cutting her off in a strangled squeak. One hand locked around her forehead and Lloyd jerked back, sending them both flying to the floor with a _thud_ , knocking the air clean from her lungs.

This was going a lot worse than she'd imagined, Harumi managed to think, half-stunned from the fall.

Reorienting herself, Harumi pried desperately at Lloyd's leg with her nails, wheezing as she struggled uselessly against his iron hold. A hazy part of her mind couldn't decide what the most humiliating part of this was — that someone had gotten the jump on her in her own palace, or that Lloyd Garmadon was currently strangling her into unconsciousness with his legs.

"Ge' _off_ , you idiot-!" she wheezed, striking at him. _Curse it_ , he'd pinned her so she couldn't even reach one of the knives hidden in the back of her vest — if she could just get him to _loosen up_ —

"That would defeat the purpose of escaping, here," Lloyd said, sounding winded. They had both hit the ground hard.

"You'll - never get - out," Harumi grunted. "All I - hav'ta do - is scream."

"Then I could just kill you now," Lloyd said darkly, tightening his hold.

Despite everything, Harumi rolled her eyes. "You don't - have it in you," she hissed, straining her head back.

There was a noted pause as Lloyd hesitated. "Yeah, okay, you're right," he admitted. "But I can still knock you out."

Harumi grit her teeth, blinking black spots from her eyes as she writhed uselessly against his hold. Stupid _ninja_ training—

"If you - run," she gasped out, trying to reason with him once more. "You'll never - stop your father."

Lloyd went abruptly still, and his hold loosened just the slightest bit. Harumi seized the opportunity and twisted, catching Lloyd unaware and sending him flipping back with a yelp. Harumi stumbled to her feet, one hand massaging her throat as she gulped for air.

Her other hand flew to her knives, but it wasn't necessary — Lloyd hadn't moved to attack her again, watching her warily where he was crouched across the room. His eyes were narrowed, but Harumi caught the spark of curiosity there, the interest he was doubtlessly fighting in what she'd said.

 _Just like a fish_ , she thought, smugly. All she had to do was drop the right bait.

Shaking her head, she shot him a venomous glare. "That was _rude_ ," she said. "And after all the trouble I went through to save your life."

Lloyd's shoulders twitched. "We both know you didn't do it for me," he said, pointedly. "What did you mean, when you said I'd never stop my father if I left?"

Harumi took a long breath before straightening, watching Lloyd carefully as he did the same. "You _obviously_ can't defeat him on your own," she said, icily. "Your efforts with your little resistance are pathetic at best."

Lloyd's jaw tightened. "I would've thought you'd be happy about that," he said. "Considering your one life goal is to ruin mine."

"Well, plans change," Harumi said, finally reaching one of her knives and whipping it out from the back of her vest. Lloyd stiffened, and she let a silky smile overtake her expression. "You're going to be useful in a slightly different way."

"Listen," Lloyd snapped, his eyes darting briefly to a spot beyond her. "I'm not just going to roll over and let you walk all over me again, so don't think—"

"No, _you_ listen," Harumi hissed, brandishing her knife at him. Lloyd took a step back as she advanced, his eyes wide and calculating. "Don't _ever_ forget who's in control here, _Lloyd_ —"

She would have finished her threat, but at that moment, a searing pain erupted in her skull as a blunt force came bearing down on her head, knocking her to the ground.

The last thing she heard before she lost consciousness was Lloyd's indignant exclamation of "Morro, _seriously?_ "

* * *

Lloyd should have seen it coming, really.

"—I mean, I appreciate the gesture, but you didn't have to smash her brain in with a chair," he said, pulling his end of the cloth around Harumi, where they'd trapped her against one of her the un-smashed chairs.

Morro scoffed, grabbing Lloyd's end of cloth and tying it to his, firmly knotting the ends. "Sure. Because you clearly had it under control."

"I did," Lloyd defended. "Just because my way wasn't excessively _violent_ —"

"No, your way was getting gutted by princess eyeliner."

Lloyd cut Morro the hottest glare he could muster, willing the urge for him to _shut up_ over their — _bond_ , ugh.

"Doesn't work like that," Morro reminded him. "This is a mutual free will thing, apparently."

"Mutual _suffering_ ," Lloyd muttered.

"Agreed," Morro sighed. He stepped back, surveying their work. Harumi was now firmly lashed to the chair, tied in place with one of the tablecloths Lloyd had yanked off the table. "So, what now?"

Lloyd ran a hand through his hair, his mind racing. "Wait for her to wake up, I guess."

Morro stared at him, eyebrows raising incredulously. "And what, just _hope_ she doesn't scream for the guards to come slaughter us?"

"No," Lloyd said, tightly. He tapped his fingers against his side, staring at Harumi. "She wanted something from me. She was going to tell me, before — before I almost drowned, and all."

"Yeah, _that's_ a big reassurance."

Lloyd briefly turned his gaze skywards. "Look, I know her, okay? Better than you do, at least. She brought me here for a reason. And if she wanted me dead, she would've just let me drown."

"Wish she had," Morro said, darkly.

Lloyd kind of did as well, at the moment. Drowning sounded a whole lot easier than dealing with his unconscious, psychopathic ex-… _something_ , and listening to Morro's constant, gravelly _whining_.

"Please, like you have any room to talk," Morro sneered, and Lloyd started. He hadn't meant to voice that aloud, unless Morro had just picked it up over the link. "All you do is whine. The entire time I was possessing you, all I ever heard was your stupid squeaky voice _crying_ about not hurting your precious family. It's infuriating."

Lloyd grit his teeth, his nails biting into his palms as his hands clenched. "Can you not," he bit out, strained. "Bring that up? Or I'm seriously considering blowing our cover myself."

"Blowing _your_ cover," Morro said. "Nobody here knows I exist."

"Um, no?" Lloyd blinked, staring at him. He gestured at Harumi. " _She_ knows you do. Or do you expect her to buy it that I knocked her out from behind while standing in _front_ of her?"

Morro's expression soured. "Well she didn't _see_ me."

Lloyd felt something painful building behind his eyes, not unlike a migraine. "Oh, my bad. I forgot Harumi was as _stupid_ as you are."

 _There_. Lloyd partially regretted stooping to his level, but by the look on Morro's face, he was finally starting to get under his skin. _Good_ , he thought, vindictively.

"You know, you'd be dead right now if it wasn't for me."

"No, I'd be somewhat mentally stable if it wasn't for you."

" _Ha_. You were long gone before I got to you, and you know it—"

"Firs' Master, y're so _loud_."

Lloyd and Morro snapped around at the rasping voice. Harumi groaned, her head nodding briefly before she dragged it up, blinking blearily. She shook her head, eyes refocusing, and — _ah_ , there it was. If looks could kill, Lloyd would be six feet in the grave right now.

"You — _idiot_ , you knocked me _out?_ " She struggled against the cloth binding her, looking incredulous. "Let me go, I'll tear your arms off, you—" She looked up again, then blinked rapidly. Her eyes turned frosty as they landed on Morro. " _Who_. Is that."

"Um." Lloyd glanced from Morro to Harumi. "This is, um."

He bit his lip. _This is a nightmare_ , he wanted to say, his heart sinking. Literally, he was pretty sure he'd had a nightmare about this once. This is what he'd been fearing, ever since they found themselves locked in the room. Out of everyone who'd ever attacked him, Morro and Harumi had by far made it the most personal. They'd also made it clear they both _despised_ him, and that was a little too much in common for Lloyd to have any hope. They'd get along like a charm, and Lloyd was very likely going to end up getting joint-murdered by them both in his sleep.

"None of your business, princess," Morro taunted. "I bet it's frustrating though. You look like someone who's used to knowing everything. How's it feel to be on the other side?"

Harumi's lip curled, baring her teeth. "As if you know anything about me."

"I know enough," Morro said, easily.

"Okay, enough," Lloyd said, shouldering his way in front of Morro. At least they weren't getting friendly yet. He met Harumi's eyes, exhaling. "Look. You were going to ask me something, back in the cage."

Some of the venom leaked from Harumi's expression, and her eyes flicked from his to the floor.

"I…" She made a stifled noise of frustration, stomping one of her feet against the floor in agitation. She then let her head drop, white strands of tangled hair falling around her face as she exhaled heavily. "A deal."

Lloyd blinked. "What?"

"I want to make a deal," Harumi grit out, the same look on her face from earlier, as if she was being forced to chew poison. "With…you. I need your…. _help_."

Lloyd was well aware of how stupid he had to look right now, with his mouth half-open like a fish, but he figured he could be excused. Because — _what?_

"You're asking me," he said, blankly. "For help."

Harumi nodded, looking furious at herself, and not a little ashamed.

Lloyd almost started laughing, beside himself. "What," he managed. "Could you _possibly_ want my help with. No, no—" He shook his head, actually laughing this time, the sound bordering on hysterical. Morro gave him a slightly alarmed look. "What in the _world_ makes you think I'd ever agree?"

Harumi's shoulders tightened, her expression setting. "I know I haven't been the most trustworthy—"

"Oh, _really!_ " Lloyd cried, throwing his hands up. "I had no idea!"

"Look," Harumi said, stiffly. "You have to understand—"

"No, _you_ understand." Lloyd's voice came like ice, vicious and freezing and scraping from his throat with how _angry_ he was. He was aware he was too close to Harumi now for comfort, but he didn't care, forcing himself up in her face like she had his so _many_ times.

"You lied to me, about _everything_. You stabbed me in the back, and then you tried to _actually_ stab me in the back. You destroyed Ninjago, ruined _everything_ my father ever stood for — you left him a _husk_. And then, and _then_ — you tried to murder every _single_ person I've ever cared about."

Lloyd shook his head, so angry he could feel burning tears biting at the corners of his eyes. How dare she — how dare she even have the nerve to ask him for help. As if she hadn't torn him to pieces, as if she hadn't hurt everyone and everything he cared about, as if she hadn't done _that_ to his father—

"So yeah," he bit out savagely, stepping back. " _Help_ you? Not a _chance_. Find someone else's chain to yank this time, because I'm _done_ with you."

Harumi stared at him wordlessly, her face pale. Morro was gaping at him in what could've been awe, if Lloyd didn't know better. He felt a small stab of satisfaction, though it was quickly swept away by the anger warring with the ever-present anxiety in his chest. Declaring how much he didn't trust Harumi to her face wasn't going to help anything in the long run. Sure, it might make Lloyd feel better for a moment, but that moment was quickly ending as he remembered how much trouble he was in. This was the worst situation he'd been stuck in all week, and that was seriously _saying_ something.

"Lloyd—" Harumi began, but her voice quickly died. She slumped, her head dropping in defeat like a marionette with its strings cut.

"I'm not asking you to trust me," she said, her voice strained. "I'm not — I wouldn't be asking you this if I didn't have a choice. You know that." She shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut. Lloyd felt his anger ebb a bit at the defeat in her voice. It was a despairing kind of defeat he knew well, because he was feeling it now.

"But this isn't about us," she continued, her voice quiet. Lloyd didn't miss the emphasis on _us_.

"Garmadon is unhinged," she murmured, staring at ground. She brought her eyes up to his, and Lloyd was taken aback at what he found there. "You were there," she said, her voice hollow. "You saw what he did. Those people—"

Harumi broke off, her jaw working. Despite himself, Lloyd felt a small pang of pity — she'd told him what happened to her parents. He knew the memories couldn't have been easy. And Lloyd _had_ been there, watching in helpless horror right next to her. He'd watched his father destroy the building, listened to the same screams. It had been the same sort of horror Lloyd had felt when he'd watch the _Bounty_ get crushed to pieces, his screams just as useless with Garmadon at his back than when Harumi had been there—

Whatever pity Lloyd had evaporated in an instant. The anger returned to bubble up in his chest, climbing up his throat in an uncomfortable heat.

" _You_ did this," Lloyd bit out, accusingly. "This was your big plan, right? Bring Garmadon back and let him rule Ninjago?"

"This isn't what I wanted," Harumi snapped, the anger in her eyes reigniting.

"Then you should've read the warning labels before you unleashed a literal husk of evil on Ninjago!" Lloyd snapped back, eyes flaming. Morro looked between the two of them, wide-eyed. Lloyd ignored him. "What did you think was gonna happen, a peaceful takeover? You knew exactly what you were doing!"

"I didn't mean for it—"

"What? You honestly expect me to believe you didn't realize all the people that were going to suffer from that decision?"

"I wanted you to suffer, I didn't want anyone else to!" Harumi yelled.

"Then why am I here and not _dead?_ " Lloyd lashed out, anger clouding his vision. She didn't need to make him suffer — he had _plenty_ of other people who had done that for her, before she even brought her own unique version of pain to the mix. And he was _sick_ , he was _so_ sick of it—

He turned away from her, and found himself looking straight at Morro, which did little to help quell the storm of emotions. Morro raised an eyebrow at him, and drew a finger across his throat, nodding at Harumi. Lloyd pressed his lips together.

 _No_ , he told himself, closing his eyes briefly and forcing the anger back. No, he was better than this. He wasn't like — he didn't give in to anger like this. He needed to pull himself back together.

Besides, it wasn't as if Harumi _didn't_ have any reason to be angry.

Harumi looked to be calming down herself, the ugly look of fury on her face giving way to weary resignation.

"Look, I believe I have a way to stop him," she said, tightly. "But I…I can't do it alone."

Lloyd's fists tightened, nails biting into the palms of his hands. It wasn't hard to hear what she left unspoken — she needed _him_. Lloyd felt his stomach turn at the idea. The last time Harumi had _needed_ him, she'd led him blindly through an Oni temple before using him as an unwilling piece in Garmadon's resurrection. The last time she'd _needed_ him, she'd convinced him she _wanted_ him, and Lloyd, colossal idiot that he was, had bought the whole sorry thing.

He forced his hands to relax. This was different. There were no masks, now — and if there were, they both knew better than to assume the other was being honest. It wasn't even about the two of them anymore, was it.

No, it was about his blasted _father_ , and his destruction of the one thing Harumi and Lloyd might actually share a love for.

Lloyd bit back a groan. He couldn't be considering it. He _shouldn't_ be.

But Ninjago came first. It always came first.

"Alright," he sighed, already regretting the words he was about to say. "I'll hear you out."

Harumi nodded, satisfied. "But first," she said, with a politeness dripping in scorn. "Could you _please_ untie me."

* * *

Nya knew the back alleys of Ninjago like she knew the back of her hand. The reminder that she mainly knew these alleyways because she so often ran them with Kai and the others, or with Lloyd, was not a welcome reminder at the moment.

And by that she meant that it hurt, almost as much as the burn in her legs.

And her legs _were_ aching, each gasping breath burning in her lungs. Loose rubble kicked up by her feet threatened to send her sprawling, and she adjusted her pace, eyes sharp and alert on the dark alleyways before her. She spared a glance at her companions, fear sparking in her chest.

If she was faring this badly, that meant the others were probably worse off.

"Stop," she breathed, holding a hand up as she skidded to a halt at the end of the alleyway, the canal just before them. The quiet rush of the river masked their gasping breaths, and the sound of water brought a level of calm to Nya's pulsing blood. The others came to a halt behind her, footsteps skittering over the torn-up gravel, and Nya leaned her head out, scanning the street alongside the bank of the canal.

There was nothing but overturned shop tables and early morning mist as far as she could see, their breathing near-deafening in the silence around them.

"Okay," she murmured, pulling back into the alleyway. "We're safe. Let's take five."

Dareth gave her a weary thumbs-up, leaning up against one of the brick-layered buildings next to him, bracing his hands on his knees. Pixal, by far in the best shape out of them, took Nya's place at the edge of the alleyway as she leaned over herself, trying to catch her breath.

Skylor met her gaze from where she stood by Misako, a hand on her back as she panted harshly. Her gaze was heavy.

"We can't keep this up," Skylor said, quietly. "We've got to find somewhere to lay low until the Sons of Garmadon back off."

"At least we lost the Colossi," Dareth grumbled. "Took that thing long enough."

"It won't be long before Garmadon sends it out again," Pixal said, tensely. "If we're going to pick a place to disappear, it needs to be now."

Nya bit her tongue. She didn't want to disappear. She wanted to break into Garmadon's tower and blow the entire structure to bits. She wanted to throttle Harumi with her bare hands, then Garmadon right after. But most of all she wanted to get her _brother_ back, to snatch Lloyd from whatever prison they'd thrown him in and bring him home safe — because she'd find him, she would always find him, she knew she could. There was nowhere Harumi could take him that Nya wouldn't hunt her down to and _destroy_ her.

The knowledge that Harumi had Lloyd in her clutches, once again, after seeing what she'd done the first time, was driving Nya just the slightest bit insane at the moment.

 _Keep the others safe for now,_ she told herself, forcing her attention back. _Do what Kai would do. Do what Lloyd would do._

She almost snorted at the thought. Kai would already be halfway out of the prison with Lloyd under his arm, she thought miserably. And Lloyd had already proven himself garbage at leaving others behind, so he wasn't much of a role model either.

 _No_ , Nya though to herself, rallying her strength. She had to stick to her own gut right now, even if that meant tearing her heart to shreds with every step she ran further away.

"Alright," she spoke up, the others' eyes turning immediately to her. Nya almost shrank at the realization that she was the leader now, even though she'd been pretty much shouldering the role with Lloyd as of late. It was just her, now.

 _Time to step up, Smith._

"We need to regroup. Do we know if any of the others made it out, at all?" she directed to Pixal.

Pixal shook her head, her eyes flashing. "I was unable to keep track," she said, a spark of irritation in her voice. "My scanners were damaged in the escape. It is possible someone did, but with the numbers they took to the Kryptarium, I wouldn't hope in it."

"Right," Nya exhaled heavily. "So we're on our own. Great."

"They were not the only allies we have," Misako spoke up, her voice quiet. "I have friends outside the city, if we could make it. And your parents—"

"No," Nya bit out, tightly. She wasn't dragging anyone else into this, and she _certainly_ wasn't ditching the city. Not with Lloyd in it. "They'd catch us before we made it out, I'm sure Harumi is watching. Our best bet is to stick low, hide in the city."

"Then we head further into the slums," Skylor said. "It'll be easier to blend in, and I know areas where people are friendly. Well, friendli _er_."

"Fantastic," Dareth muttered. "Back to the backstreets."

"They're better off than _we_ are, right now," Skylor defended.

"And most of the city," Pixal murmured, her eyes on the buildings smoking across the horizon.

Nya tapped the edge of her spear where it rested against her back, running it over. Fleeing to one of the ninja's hideouts was dangerous — there was a reason they'd kept to the _Bounty_ when they were guarding Harumi. Secret hideouts didn't work if they weren't _secret_ anymore.

But they'd been in nothing _but_ danger since Garmadon had taken over, and it would be really, really nice to have better weapons.

And if she could nab Kai's bike, then she might be able to make it back to the battle wagon—

"I've got a place," she said, decided. "It's a bit far, but it'll be safe, if we can reach it without being seen."

"Oh, I'm afraid it's too late for that."

Nya spun around, whipping her spear from her back and holding it aloft. She swore under her breath as she caught sight of the figures emerging from the shadows at the other end of the alleyway, their painted helmets clearly marking them the enemy. She quickly counted, her eyes scanning the alley intently. _Two, three_ — there only seemed to be four, but that still didn't excuse it. How had they snuck up on them like that? Scratch that, how had they snuck up on _her?_

Pixal seemed to be having a similar thought, her eyes incensed as she snapped to a rigidly defensive stance. Her hand rested above the bracelet Nya knew would call the mech, as if on instinct, even though they all knew the mech was wrecked. Skylor didn't bother to quiet her curse at all, her face screwing up in frustration as she backed defensively away with the rest of them, the canal at their backs.

"Little early for you all to be out, isn't it?" Skylor called, plastering a strained but mocking smile on her face. "You sure your princess overlord won't mind? Or is Garmadon the only one calling the shots, now."

The lead biker stepped forward, and Nya recognized him as the wild-haired one Cole and Zane had tried to interrogate, the one Lloyd had caught the night this entire mess began.

"Doesn't matter which one's in charge," he shrugged, unconcerned. "You'll answer to one or the other, and either way, I get credit."

" _We_ get credit, Cunningham," another biker rasped from behind him. The white-haired man — Cunningham, the name was familiar now — rolled his eyes, waving him off.

Dareth took a nervous step back, and Misako narrowed her eyes. "You can't possibly be delusional enough to think he'll reward you," she said, her voice icy. "Garmadon is powerful, but he doesn't share. You're nothing but a pawn to him, and a disposable one at that."

One of the bikers stepped forward menacingly at her words, and Nya blocked his path, her spear glinting. Cunningham scoffed. "And what would you know?"

"More than you do, I can assure you. I was _married_ to him."

Cunningham raised an eyebrow at that. Nya flashed him a tight smile. "We know who we're dealing with, thanks," she spat. "And we're not going with you, so you can kiss that reward goodbye."

"I was hoping you'd say that." Nya felt her eyes grow wide as Cunningham brought a painted, scarlet-red mask from behind his back, the design unmistakeable.

Dareth gave a quiet moan of fear. " _Tell_ me that's not—"

"Oh, it is," Cunningham smiled, tapping the Mask of Vengeance. "Are we doing this the easy way, or the hard way?"

Nya chewed on her lip, eyebrows drawing into a glare. Pixal's eyes widened, an odd look on her face.

"So he destroyed him," she said, quietly.

Nya had no idea who she was talking about, but she couldn't find it in her to worry about it now. She took a breath and stepped forward, Skylor at her side.

"Last chance to surrender," she said, her eyes narrowing into slits on him.

Cunningham shrugged, and the three bikers behind him laughed, bringing out their own weapons as they stepped out of the alleyway, leaving the two groups facing each other alongside the canal.

"Last chance to reconsider," he replied, bringing the edge of the mask to his face.

Nya's fingers went white-knuckled around her spear, adrenaline roaring in her ears. She could take him, mask or not. The river was at her side, and Pixal and Skylor were at her back. Combined, they could fight them off. They didn't have a choice. Nya wasn't going to end up in a cell, not when she had a duty to—

So loud was her heartbeat in her ears, Nya almost missed the hum of the boat. A second later, it was impossible to miss, because the small riverboat had driven straight up onto the street, crashing toward the bikers. Cunningham managed a panicked curse before he was forced to dive aside, splashing into the canal before the boat crushed him. The other bikers weren't as lucky, the boat smashing into them and sending them flying, screaming as they crashed into the canal along with their boss.

The entire thing happened in mere seconds, but Nya felt like she was watching it unfold in slow motion. Her grip on her spear went slack, and she gaped at the wreckage, the riverboat finally creaking to a halt in front of them, tilting once before slamming down on its side.

A hand smacked down on the side of it, and Nya brought her spear back up. Behind her, she heard Pixal preparing to fight as well.

"Oh, what _now?_ " Skylor moaned.

The hand braced itself against the side, straining, and a figure pulled themselves up from the deck, coughing slightly in the smoke. They paused, straightening their hat, and emerged from the smoke.

Nya almost dropped her spear again, her fighting stance dropping. From the deck of the smoking boat stepped Mystaké, hat in place, seemingly utterly unruffled.

"Oh good, I didn't hit you too," she said, her voice amused. "That would've been unfortunate."

Nya gaped at her. Misako gave a sound that could've been a laugh.

"You almost killed us!" Dareth sputtered, staring at her in indignation.

"But I didn't," Mystaké said, cheerfully. "Saved your lives, in fact. Or were you going to tell me you had it under control?"

"How — you—" Nya shook her head, rubbing at her temple. The adrenaline from the almost-fight was fading incredibly quick, leaving exhaustion in its place. "How did you find us?"

"And how did you escape?" Skylor burst out. "We thought they'd grabbed you too!"

Mystaké merely wrinkled her nose. "Of course they didn't 'grab me'," she sniffed. "As if they could. And I found you like I always do. You needed me."

"Of course, explains everything," Skylor muttered.

Mystaké shook her head, crossing the distance between them to pat Nya on the shoulder. "I will, dear, in time—"

She suddenly paused. Her eyes roved over each of them in turn, narrowing into mere slits.

"Where," she said, her gravelly voice sharp. "Is young Garmadon."

Skylor and Pixal exchanged glances. Misako made a gutted sound. Nya swallowed. She opened her mouth, then closed it.

"We lost him," she finally ground out, bitterly. "He…Garmadon took him."

Mystaké didn't look surprised. Her brows merely drew together, her expression darkening. "Did he now," she said. It might have been the dawning sunlight, but Nya could have sworn she saw a glint of purple in her eyes.

"Well. That's going to complicate a thing or two, isn't it."

* * *

Lloyd, as predicted, was less than enthusiastic about Harumi's plan.

"Can you blame me?" he said, drily.

"Yes, it's a perfectly sound plan," Harumi snapped, rubbing her arms where the cloth had cut off circulation in them. She sat cross-legged across from Lloyd, the two facing each other in an informal kind of stalemate. Morro was perched on the table behind Lloyd, one knee pulled up the his chest, his other leg swinging against the ground. He shifted from messing with his nails to eyeing the two every other minute, seemingly unconcerned.

"Yeah, if _dying_ is the end goal."

Harumi let go of her arms, folding them instead. "Considering where your previous plans have led you, I wouldn't think that'd be a problem."

The vein above Lloyd's left eye felt like it was about to begin throbbing. "Well maybe dying was better than being stuck with you."

Morro made a quiet noise, and Harumi twitched. Lloyd was perfectly aware of how childish he was being, and it was — it was on purpose, to annoy Harumi. That was all.

Harumi's eyebrows plunged down, opening her mouth to snap at him — then she closed it, her shoulders slumping. "Look," she said, rubbing her temples. "Do you want to stop him or not."

Lloyd regarded her slowly. His eyes were mistrustful.

Harumi sighed. "We can argue all day, but your father needs to be stopped. You know this."

"…and _you're_ going to stop him," Lloyd said, flatly. "You're just. Going to go back on everything."

"I'm not going back, I'm going forward," Harumi snarled. She took a tight breath, leaning back. "And it won't be me stopping him alone, remember? I saved your life for a reason. As much as it kills me to admit it, Garmadon is too powerful as he is. I can't stop him on my own."

Lloyd gave a humorless snort. "And you think _I_ can? Did you take a nap when he was blasting me all over Kryptarium?"

"You lost that fight because you went in alone with no plan, like a stupid fool," Harumi said. Lloyd's eyes flashed, but he didn't contest her. "You let your attachment to him blind you. If you cut that out, you might have stood a chance. I'm offering you a second one."

Lloyd raised an eyebrow, and Harumi mirrored his action.

"It's the best chance you're going to get, and you know it. So?"

Lloyd's eyebrows pulled downward in doubt. Despite who it was coming from, it wasn't the worst offer he'd ever received. It was far from the worst plan he'd ever agreed to, but he wasn't about to admit that. And stopping his father was…important. Lloyd knew this.

But the _who_ it was coming from.

"I can't," he said, slowly. "I can't just…trust you again. Not with something this big."

"You don't have to trust me," Harumi said. "I don't want your trust, anyways. You just need to do your part to bring him down."

"And then?"

"And then we go back to trying to kill each other over the city, except this time Garmadon's out of the way."

"And less people die," Lloyd finished. Harumi nodded.

He bit his lip, looking away, then pushed himself to his feet, pacing the short length of the room. Harumi stood as well, regarding him warily. Lloyd finally turned back to her, shaking his head. "I don't — Harumi, I can't—"

He broke off, looking away, indecision written all over his face.

Harumi gave a terse sigh.

She suddenly brought another knife from behind her, the cold steel pressing against Lloyd's neck. He went very still. Morro sprung to his feet, his eyes cold, but he didn't make any other moves. Lloyd figured he didn't want to find out what happened if Lloyd got sliced through the neck while their souls were linked.

"Let me help you make up your mind, then," she said, evenly. "You do this, and I don't kill you now."

Despite himself, Lloyd couldn't help rolling his eyes. He winced as the knife pricked against his throat, and gingerly pushed it back with his thumb, trying to gain leverage.

"So I _don't_ have a choice."

"Sad, to think you believed you ever had one in the first place."

Lloyd looked up, squeezing his eyes shut. Oh, he was going to regret this. He was going to regret this _so much_.

But…a few hours ago, the best thing he'd had to look forward to was being _executed_. And as much as he hated it, Harumi was opening another door that was — just barely — better.

Because — twisted and blind and hateful as she was — she was right. His fa— Garmadon was destroying the city as they spoke, and every minute he was in power, more people's lives were at risk.

Innocent people, _his_ people.

Lloyd couldn't live with that. He couldn't let anyone else die because of _his_ failures, of _his_ family and his whole disaster of a legacy. Not when he was being offered a chance to stop it, terrible chance as it was.

And if she didn't kill him now, then he might be able to live long enough to spend at least a few moments without an uninvited ghost in his head, before he inevitably ended up murdered.

"Fine," Lloyd ground out. "But I'm making changes to the plan."

Harumi looked surprised. "You're in?" she said, carefully. "Just like that? No long-winded speeches of justice, or anything?"

Lloyd glared at her. "Yes. Let it go before I change my mind."

A slow, dangerous sort of look spread across Harumi's face. "Well," she said. "This is going to be fun, then."

"I really don't think that's the word," Lloyd muttered.

"Great, that's settled." Morro spoke up, making the both of them jump. "While you're at it, do you mind getting that knife away from his neck already? Not that I care that much, but it's going to be incredibly inconvenient for me if you slit his throat on accident."

Lloyd stared at him, and Harumi's eyes narrowed into slits. "Again. _Who_ is this?"

"A nuisance," Lloyd spoke up before Morro could answer. "I'll tell you once we agree on a plan. You mentioned we'd be stealing."

Harumi bit her lip, glaring at Morro, but eventually turned back to Lloyd. "From Garmadon, so I doubt you'll mind much." She shook her head, as if she still couldn't believe herself, then lowered her hand, sliding the knife back beneath her robes. She sat cross-legged on the floor again, drawing a scroll from her robes and smoothing it out on the floor. Lloyd joined her, frowning as he studied the scroll.

"Garmadon is too powerful," Harumi began. "For any one person to steal his power. The only possible option we have is to use someone of the same bloodline, which in this case—"

"Means me," Lloyd finished, trying to ignore the uneasy pit in his stomach. He'd had a feeling they would end up here, and he wasn't sure how he felt about it. "Again. Did you miss the fight at Kryptarium? If I go head to head with him _now_ it's going to be over a lot quicker, and a lot messier."

"Which is why we find something we can fight back with," Harumi said, unconcerned. "First things first, we need a weapon that can withstand your father's power." She glanced at her scroll, her eyebrows furrowing. "I have several ideas, none of which are easily accessible."

"What about the masks?" Lloyd mused, remembering the power she'd wielded against him.

Harumi shot him a look of disbelief. "The Oni masks?" she said. "The ones that brought him back to life? Have you read _nothing_ of your own history?"

Lloyd bristled at that, feeling oddly offended. His mom was one of the best researchers in Ninjago, he knew plenty of its history — he was _living_ it. Just because he forgot a detail or two—

"I'm _sorry_ ," he grit out. "I didn't grow up in a palace with plenty of time on my hands. I spent half my childhood on the streets, my _bad_."

Harumi rolled her eyes. "Your ignorance is going to get us killed before we even start," she muttered. "We can't use the masks against him. He'll have the upper hand. We need something simple, like, ah, the Golden Armor, or the Sword of Sanctuary, or—"

"Okay, first off, no to the Golden Armor," Lloyd said quickly, banishing the terrible memories. No way he was messing with that again. "Second — I might be able to get you that other one."

Harumi's gaze was scrutinizing. "If you can get that, then we'll have a weapon. All we'll need is the scroll your father took from me."

Lloyd gave her a questioning look, and she sighed.

"The Oni scroll, the resurrection scroll," she said. "It's what I used to bring him back. The other half would be nice, of course, but we should be able to reverse some of the damage with this half alone."

"Oh." Lloyd fell quiet, letting that sink in. _Huh_. He did know what scroll she was talking about, actually. A little too well, but he wasn't sure he wanted to let that slip yet.

"So if I get you the sword and the scroll?" he finally sighed.

Harumi stared at him, her eyes calculating and suspicious. "Then we stand a chance," she said, slowly. "But you'd have to be sure of it."

Lloyd nodded. "I am," he said. "If you hold to your end of the plan. _All_ the ends."

Harumi's lip curled. "There's a lot of people in Kryptarium."

Lloyd met her gaze head on. "And there's a lot more of the city to lose if I don't help you."

Harumi's expression tightened, souring like she'd tasted something foul. "Fine," she spat. "Your friends in Kryptarium go free. Once your father has fallen."

"That thing is not my father," Lloyd said quickly, mostly to remind himself.

"Oh, right," Harumi said. "He disowned you, didn't he?"

Lloyd was forced to remind himself that cold-blooded murder would be considered stooping to Harumi's level, and probably a bad thing on the whole.

" _Yeah_ ," he bit out, instead. "So again. _Not_ my father."

Harumi seemed almost disappointed that he didn't rise to the bait, but she simply shrugged. "Oh, and one more thing," she added. She turned to Morro again, her eyes narrowed. "You still haven't told me who _he_ is," she scowled. "I need to know if we'll be working…together."

If Morro was offended at her tone, he didn't show it, merely grinning at her. He was clearly enjoying holding the knowledge over her.

"This is Morro," Lloyd sighed, figuring he may as well put an end to it. Morro shot him a look of irritated betrayal. "He's a ghost. Kind of. It doesn't really concern you."

"He's infringing on my plan, of course it concerns me," Harumi snapped. Her brow furrowed, recognition suddenly dawning. "Wait, a _ghost?_ Morro as in the ghost that attacked Styx a few years back?"

"Uh…yeah," Lloyd blinked. He hadn't expected her to recognize the name that quickly. She probably idolized him, or something, kept his name in her book of role models who decided Lloyd had personally attacked their existence. "That's him. Also tried to destroy my life, and everyone else's in Ninjago."

Harumi went quiet, seemingly digesting this. Morro appeared to have recovered his taunting composure, eyeing Harumi.

"Heard you're on the same warpath," he said, his voice mocking. "You're off to a terrible start, comparatively."

Harumi shook her head, coming back to herself. She gave a derisive laugh. " _Please_. Your plan was nonexistent at best, and your execution was sloppy," she scoffed. "And I heard you couldn't even go through with it — you took it all back last second. Pathetic."

Morro's expression contorted. "Oh? _You're_ one to talk," he sneered. "Oh boo-hoo, I'm a spoiled brat who lived in a palace my whole life, how tragic. Well, let me tell you something, _princess_ —"

"Don't pretend you know _anything_ , you _vagrant_ —"

"—and you're one to talk about taking it all back! Look who's trying to turn their failed plans around now, hm? You spent the last half hour practically _begging_ goody-two-shoes blondie here to save you."

"I did not!"

Lloyd stared between the two of them. They were… _not_ getting along? He blinked. _Huh_. Clearly a mutual hatred of Lloyd was not, in fact, enough to bridge the apparently-developing mutual hatred of each other. This could either be a stroke of luck or absolutely terrible, Lloyd mused, watching the two glare at each other with near-identical looks of irritated fury.

On the bright side, maybe they'd kill each other before they killed him—

"—a privileged coward at best, you know nothing—"

"—at least I'm not stupid enough to have gotten _killed_ —"

The pain behind his forehead that had been building earlier suddenly intensified, and Lloyd ground the palms of his hands into his eyes, trying not to groan. No, this was worse. This was definitely worse.

It'd be a miracle if they got far enough into the plan to even get out of the palace, at this rate.


	6. Chapter 6

**Every time I think "let's make this chapter a little shorter" it ends up even longer, I _swear_ -**

 **Slightly sooner update this time! Finally getting into more action, even if teamwork is...not at an all-time high with these three. At any rate, it's probably time for a reminder that 1) I outlined this before the end of season 9 had premiered, much less season 10, and 2) this is built off a whole lot of headcanons on how elemental powers actually work, so it might not be the most accurate, eheh.** **(Look to be fair they don't really give you a lot of details in the show anyways, so it's free territory.)**

 **Thank you so, so much to everyone who's reviewed and followed this, as always! I've almost gotten to all of the users I can reply to directly, but to those without accounts, I love every single one of you and thank you for making my day :D**

 **(especially "the girls are fighting" thank u bongwater i've been laughing all day)**

* * *

Of all the things Morro had expected to deal with this month, this definitely had to be at the absolute bottom of the list — in a way where it wasn't even _on_ the list, because it _should not be happening_.

Not for the first time in this horrible day, Morro flexed his fingers, watching the pale skin shift from ghostly to near flesh-colored. He frowned, something odd curdling in his chest.

 _Half-dead_. That was what Bansha had called it once, hadn't she? When they'd fallen to talking in the Cursed Realm, before they ever put their plot in motion. She'd existed long before Morro had, her death occurring years before he'd even been born. Yet there she'd been, right beside him as they knelt before the Preeminent, calculating and conscious.

It was a double-sided sword, she'd told him, being cursed with this existence. On one hand, she still _existed_. She could see things she never would have seen if she'd simply passed on, could work toward a cause she had long since lost faith in. On the other hand, she knew what it was to live — and living as a ghost wasn't really living at all. You were cursed, she'd told him, to know what the sun on your skin felt like, to know what breathing felt like, and to know that you'd never feel it again.

 _Not quite alive, not quite dead,_ she'd mourned. _Half-dead._

Morro had written her off as overly sentimental then. Now, he wrote her off as clueless.

 _Half-dead_ , he thought bitterly, watching his skin flicker again. _This_ was half-dead — not existing as a ghost, free from hunger and attachments and other useless living concerns, but constantly flickering in-between, chained to death but tied to life.

And now tied to _Lloyd_ , of all people.

It almost made Morro laugh, because of _course_. Only his life could throw that kind of irony at him. Then again, he'd known for a while now the sense of humor the old man had—

Morro shook his head, banishing the thought. Speaking of Lloyd — Morro glanced up from where he leaned against the table, surveying the kid where he was hunched over the scroll by Harumi, going over the last details of their plan. Morro narrowed his eyes. He could hardly call him a kid anymore, could he. Sure, the Green Ninja was a teenager at best, young-faced and naive, but there was a hardness in his eyes that Morro hadn't seen when he'd first possessed him — a wariness in his posture, more careful, more guarded. His face was thinner, his eyes darker, and he'd picked up a few more scars than Morro had left.

It was almost enough change for Morro to consider him a serious threat, if it wasn't painfully clear that Lloyd was still the worst bleeding heart he'd ever come across.

The edge of Morro's lip curled. Sure, he could see _why_ the kid would feel like he was backed into a corner. Morro had been back in this realm for less than a day, and he could already tell things were pretty catastrophically bad. But to strike a deal with _her_ , when they easily could've stuffed her in a closet, or snapped her neck…

Morro crossed his arms tighter across himself, tapping his foot quietly. He didn't like it.

He glanced up again, and from the corners of his eyes, he studied the princess — the enemy.

She had the hardened look of grief in her eyes, though hers was tapered with the ugly, cruel edge that came from festering in years of resentment. Morro knew a thing or two about that. Her posture was unceasingly tense, like a bowstring drawn close to snapping. Every line of her face seemed carven from stone, flawless but cold, and the idea that Lloyd had once believed a friendship with her possible was laughable.

(Or whatever the open wound of betrayal he could feel bleeding out everywhere from Lloyd was from. He was incredibly guarded about that one, but Morro would puzzle out their relationship eventually. It was too entertaining not to.)

The princess made a tight noise of exasperation, brushing her hair back, and Morro rolled his eyes. Flawless except the ugly makeup she'd smeared everywhere, of course. He resisted the urge to scoff. The dark marks around _his_ eyes came the hard way.

He narrowed his eyes, watching the princess as she stood again, her hand flexing briefly to where Morro knew she'd stowed her knife. The look in her eyes promised blood if he tried anything, but she wasn't the kind of threat an actual warrior posed. She wasn't even a threat in the way ninja were. The grief in her eyes didn't hold the same kind of battle-hardened experience he'd seen looking back at him from the ninja — her hands were smooth and unblemished, not scarred and calloused as one who was familiar with a weapon might have.

Despite her posturing, Morro could almost believe she'd be easy to take down. She had the well-fed look of someone who'd lived their life in privilege, a far cry from Morro, who looked perpetually gaunt anyways, and Lloyd, who was somehow managing to look smaller than he did when Morro had possessed him, even with the height he'd grown.

He pursed his lips. It would be easy to write her off — far too easy. It had been easy to write Lloyd off as an insignificant threat to him as well, and he'd paid the price for that mistake. No, it wouldn't be smart to make a move just yet. Besides, Lloyd did have a point about her value. They needed someone who knew the terrain they were in.

But _oh_ , it was tempting not to smash the smug look from her face.

"Well, if we make it out of this alive it'll be a miracle, but I can go with that," Lloyd was saying, and Morro jerked himself back to awareness.

Harumi rolled her eyes, but she seemed relieved, nodding. Morro could sympathize with that, at least. They'd been standing around doing nothing for too long. It was time for action, for _actual_ daggers, not just glaring them at each other.

"Then it's settled," she said. "Once we're out of here, you get me that sword. Then we can start on the real plan."

Lloyd shifted, scrubbing at the back of his head. Morro frowned, feeling the vague buzz of _reluctance-anxiety-guilt_ emanating from where he and Lloyd were connected.

"About that," he said, slowly. "The sword might be a little…out of the way."

Harumi stiffened, her eyes narrowing. "And what does that mean, exactly?"

Lloyd shrugged. "We might need a car."

Harumi took a breath, her fingers clenching and unclenching. "I am _not_ about to give you a chance to run us right into your Resistance," she said, tightly. "So you'd better tell me where, exactly, in Ninjago City the sword is, or I'm scrapping this and turning you into your father."

Instead of flinching back, as Morro expected him to, Lloyd simply grinned, the expression almost out of place on his face.

"Oh, it's not in Ninjago City," he said. "A little past Jamanakai, maybe?"

This time, Morro had actual trouble suppressing the laugh at the look on Harumi's face. So much for her cool exterior. She looked more likely to burst into flames right now.

"Are you out of your _mind?_ " she exclaimed. "Do you think I'm just going to — to jet off on some cross-country trip with you? Do you think I _trust_ you? The minute we're outside of Ninjago City, you could go rogue. Absolutely not."

It was Lloyd's turn to glare. "I'm not going to 'go rogue'," he snapped. "Or did you forget that I actually _want_ to stop my father?" He shook his head, then met Harumi's gaze with his own challenging one. "Look. You want the other half of the resurrection scroll? We're going to have to take a trip outside the city."

Harumi's jaw dropped open like a dead fish, and Morro _did_ snort this time.

"How did you know — _you_ have the other half?!"

Lloyd gave another shrug, refusing to answer her. "You in, or not?"

Morro watched the two of them, almost grinning to himself. Oh, this was going to be fun. He hadn't seen this side of Lloyd when he'd possessed him.

Harumi seemed to have regained control of herself, shutting her mouth tightly enough that he could hear her teeth clack. "This would have been nice," she ground out tightly. "To know when we were making the plan, you know."

"It would've been nice to know you were gonna stab me in the back, too, but I guess we're both out luck," Lloyd shot back. Harumi blinked at that, before her face settled back into the glare Morro was quickly getting used to.

"Fine," she exhaled, her voice strained. " _Fine_. Once we're out of the city, we follow you." Her face twisted, the words unpleasant. "But first, we're getting out of here, so you follow _my_ lead."

"Fair enough," Lloyd muttered, resigned. Morro wasn't as on board with that, but he guessed he didn't have much of a choice. He had yet to fully figure out _where_ he even was, much less what he was up against.

He didn't like that. Especially not when his own body was revolting against him, he thought darkly, glaring at his hands.

"Here." Morro glanced up as Harumi dropped two slender daggers into Lloyd's hand. He took them reluctantly, and Morro found himself missing his katana.

 _Lloyd's_ , Lloyd was missing _his_ katana, not—

Morro suppressed a curse. It was harder to keep on his side of the link than he'd thought.

"I better not find one of those in my back, by the way," Harumi continued, looking uncomfortable with the fact that she had just armed him. "But you're useless on your own. Unless ghost boy is taking care of that." She surveyed Morro with narrowed eyes.

Morro bristled, his stare growing cold. "Better than you could," he replied, snidely. "I'd be more worried over you tripping over your ugly boots and impaling yourself on your own knife."

Morro had a brief moment of satisfaction at the expression on Harumi's face, before Lloyd spoke over them.

"Okay, that's - can we focus," he sighed, leaning against the table. "Morro's with me. He's got…power if we need it, but if all goes well we shouldn't. No sense revealing our cards before we need to."

"Fine," Harumi said, brushing a lock of pale hair from her eyes as she shot one last dirty look at Morro. "Just as long as you can cause a big enough distraction for me to get my scroll. Once I have it, I'll come back for you and you'll... _capture_ me. _Try_ to make it convincing, will you? They need to believe it."

"Oh, we'll make it convincing, alright," Morro grinned.

"We'll sell it," Lloyd sighed, shooting Morro a look. He shrugged. He really didn't understand why Lloyd would expect anything else from him. "Just have the escape route ready, okay? If we run into my—" Lloyd's expression twisted, and Morro caught a hot flash of emotion before Lloyd crushed it. "—Garmadon, things are going to get bad pretty fast."

"That won't be a problem," Harumi said. "I already checked, he's removed himself to the temple for the night. This is our best chance." She took a breath, as if steadying herself. "And also most likely our only chance. Do not blow it."

"I won't," Lloyd replied, tightly. He shot Morro a look. "And neither will he."

"Speak for yourself," Morro murmured, but he had no intentions of ruining the princess' plans ( _just yet_ ). Getting out of this stuffy palace was a shared goal, at least.

Lloyd rolled his eyes, pushing himself up from where he'd been leaning against the table. The color suddenly leeched from his face as he wavered briefly, a vague rush of dizziness turning Morro's stomach before Lloyd shook his head, reorienting himself and straightening.

Morro eyed him shrewdly. Harumi had turned her back to listen outside the door, so Morro felt free to take a step closer to Lloyd.

"You sure you're ready to fight?" he said, careful to keep his voice low and even. "You do know that if you pass out mid-battle and get us both skewered, it's kind of going to wreck the plan."

Lloyd paused in rubbing at his temple to shoot him a scowl. "I'll be fine," he said. "I've always healed fast."

Morro leaned back, surveying him. He wasn't lying, exactly — Morro was more than familiar with how Lloyd worked, having, uh...spent time in his body. He'd been able to take hits with Lloyd's body that would've laid anyone else out for weeks, then walk them off in a day or two. That, however, had always been accompanied by the slight buzz of green power, something Lloyd apparently didn't have at the moment.

Lloyd seemed to catch onto that train of thought, his lips pressing together. "It's…more of a heritage thing than a power thing," he mumbled. "I think."

Morro frowned at that. Either Lloyd was turning as cryptic as his uncle, or his time underwater had messed with his brain worse than Morro thought. Neither one was an appealing option.

"So long as your lungs don't start filling up with water again," he finally huffed, letting it go.

"Thanks for the concern," Lloyd grumbled, as Harumi finally turned back to them, her expression set.

"All clear," she said, her fingers deftly unlocking the door. "Ready?"

Lloyd glanced at Morro, who simply offered him a shrug. Harumi was going to be _Lloyd's_ problem, as long as Morro could help it. He had enough problems of his own to deal with. Lloyd could take this one, until they were at a safe enough place where Morro could bait her temper again.

Lloyd took that as confirmation, though, and he nodded, turning back to Harumi."Just to double check," he said. "This distraction we're causing?"

Harumi's eyes glinted. Despite how irritated Morro was with the princess, he couldn't help but like that look. That look meant _fun_.

"You're going to blow up part of my palace," she said, not at all sounding conflicted about that. "I'm going to help you."

* * *

For all the struggle he'd put up against the other parts of her plan, Lloyd was willing to go along with the part where he got to blow her palace up a little too eagerly.

She couldn't blame him, Harumi figured. She'd enjoyed blowing up the palace enough herself the first time. Evidently, Lloyd wasn't straight-laced enough to rise above enjoying that kind of destruction.

Then again, it could also just be the influence of his…acquaintance, Harumi thought darkly to herself as she dug her heel into another ridged stone, pulling herself up the northern wall of the palace. Lloyd had explained their predicament, however briefly, but Harumi had gotten the gist of it. Sort of. Something about linked souls and possession — Lloyd could be incredibly dramatic when he wanted to. It meant more complications, she knew that much.

She flexed her gloved hands before she grabbed hold again, scowling to herself. _Morro_. She knew he was, of course — she'd watched the broadcasts with the emperor and empress, observed as the emperor had worked himself into worry doing nothing to help his people but that. But she'd never, in her wildest imaginings of any scenario, expected to have to deal with him. He was supposed to be _dead_.

Then again, so was Garmadon, and look at the mess she was dealing with now.

She shook her head, focusing back on the wall she was climbing. Garmadon's quarters lay on one of the topmost floors of the palace, which meant the halls would not only be heavily guarded, but almost impossible to access. What both the Sons of Garmadon and Garmadon himself didn't know, however, was that it was _incredibly_ easy to bypass all of that if one knew where the right footholds on the outer walls were. And Harumi knew much, much more about the palace's secrets that just those.

She'd have Hutchins to thank for that, if she hadn't blown him up along with the rest of those loyal to the royal family.

Her fingers suddenly scrabbled over loose rock, and she gave a frightened gasp as her hand failed to make purchase, dropping her about a foot or two before she managed to seize the ledge of a window, halting her fall. She hung there limply for a second, her heart beating loudly in her chest. _Sloppy_ , she scolded herself. She couldn't afford to lose focus now.

Redoubling her efforts, Harumi scaled the few yards remaining between her and Garmadon's window, careful to make sure her handholds were firm this time. She finally pulled herself to the left of the window, wiping sweat from her eyes with her forearm before glancing inside.

The room was in utter darkness, as it always was, but there was no malicious glow of purple to let her know that Garmadon had changed his mind and returned to his quarters. Her eyes drifted lower, frantically scanning the room, and — _there_. A pile of scrolls were scattered across a table, the white of the paper illuminated in the faint moonlight.

 _Perfect_. She maneuvered herself back beneath the window, deft fingers working at the sides of the window pane. Loosening three of the four latches, Harumi paused, steadying herself. Now she just had to wait for Lloyd's distraction. Hopefully it wouldn't take much longer. Her arms were beginning to burn from the strain of holding herself at this angle, and she wasn't sure how much longer she could—

A high-pitched screech rent the quiet of the night around her. An explosion like thunder followed immediately after, and Harumi clung tightly to the windowsill as the palace shuddered, shouts of alarm echoing from the hallways inside. She glanced beyond to where she knew the main gates of the palace to be — a dark cloud of smoke was billowing up across the night sky, colored by the orange-red hue of fire as sparks rained down over the palace.

Harumi couldn't help the grin that spread across her face. Oh, the empress would be _so_ disappointed in her, wouldn't she.

Shaking her head, she quickly loosened the last of the latches on the window pane, pulling it free and and shoving it through the window. She followed soon after, stepping quietly to the floor. She had a brief moment of breathless victory — she'd made it. She'd broken into _his_ room, hadn't been caught, and was about to stab a lethal hole in Garmadon's carefully constructed plans, just like he had hers. She was getting pretty good at this vicious karma thing—

The palace suddenly trembled violently, yanking her from her thoughts and sending her stumbling into a desk with an _oof_. She bit back a yelp as she stubbed her foot against the side of the hardwood desk, shooting it a vicious glare before staring up at the rattling ceiling in concern.

"Hold, you stupid palace," she muttered beneath her breath. It'd stood for hundreds of years — if it could take everything it'd been through _then_ , it could take a couple more explosions.

…she hoped.

Harumi bit her lip, carefully moving across the room. She knew very well that setting off another bomb in her palace was probably a terrible risk, even with the look Lloyd had given her before he'd run off. But she needed the scroll — their plan would never work without it. And explosions were simply the best distraction you could ask for, especially if you were looking to distract Garmadon.

The reminder of who's room she was stealing with sent a chill down her spine, and Harumi hurried to the table, eyes scanning the documents frantically as she began to rifle through them. Garmadon had barely touched the room, so she doubted he'd hid the scroll anywhere else. He certainly didn't sleep, from what she'd gathered, so no use exploring anywhere else. Overconfident warlords didn't seem the type to worry about people stealing from their rooms, not when they had a Colossi at their command. And _hopefully_ , he had yet to suspect Harumi of any treachery, so he had little to fear from inside the palace at all.

That last one was something she desperately hoped to keep intact, Harumi thought as she worried her lip. The plan she'd outlined to Lloyd had accounted for that, but the brunt of its success depended on Lloyd himself, and that wasn't something she had much faith in, she thought sourly, as she continued to sort through scrolls.

 _No, no, no_ — what _was_ this language? Harumi narrowed her eyes as she shoved worn scrolls aside, searching for hers. Her eyes finally caught yellowed paper and a familiar inked illustration, and her heart lifted. _Gotcha_.

She grabbed for the scroll, snatching it up — but her pull was _just_ a bit too violent, and the papers beneath it went scattering across the floor with a loud slap of heavy paper against wood. She whispered a curse, her eyes flying to the door as she froze. After a minute's worth of silence, she relaxed, her breath whooshing out in a relieved exhale. She bent down, snatching up the papers to place them back on the table. Her eyes flicked briefly over them, making sure she didn't leave behind anything else important as she continued to leaf through the other scrolls, her fingers sliding roughly over the ancient, preserved paper.

Her fingers suddenly slid from worn parchment to the glossy feel of a photograph, and she frowned. She pulled one of the papers from the bottom of the pile to her, setting the others back down. The paper turned out to be an unrolled scroll, the language foreign and unfamiliar, but that wasn't what caught her interest.

She carefully tugged the glossy slip up from where it was hidden in the parchment, folded carefully. Her eyes caught the edge of the photograph where it peeked above the fold, and her eyebrows furrowed. It was dirtied by sand and faded bloodstains, unlike the other pristinely kept scrolls, but she could just see the top of two heads in the photograph, one graying and one burnished blond, and the edge of green robe at the side—

A shout echoed from the hall outside, and Harumi nearly dropped both the scroll and its photograph in surprise. Shaking her head, she shoved them back beneath the pile. She got what she came for. It was time to go.

Tucking the scroll beneath her vest, Harumi hurried quietly toward the window, stepping up to the ledge and preparing to climb back down. She reached for the glass window pane to reattach it, when her eyes caught something glinting from the corner of the room. She froze, hesitating.

Well, on second thought…

She darted forward, snatched the edge of the purple mask, and secured it in her bag.

A satisfied smile played at the edge of her lips as she climbed back out the window, carefully leaning the window pane back in place before maneuvering herself across the outer walls again, heading for the eastern gate. The mask almost hummed in her bag, as if its power was calling to her, and Harumi's smile grew full.

 _Now_ , she was ready for a fight.

* * *

Lloyd had done a lot of stupid things in his life, but he had to admit that as far as this one went, it was incredibly satisfying.

"She wasn't kidding about the firepower," Morro remarked from where he was crouched behind a pillar beside him, his eyes wide on the billowing cloud of fire that used to be the front gate of the palace.

"And you wanted to get closer," Lloyd replied, coughing and waving at the smoke filtering around them.

Morro shot him a grin, his eyes glinting in the light of the fire. "What, scared of a little heat?"

"No," Lloyd shot back. He was brothers with _Kai_ , of course he wasn't —

Lloyd slammed the lid tightly on that thought. Even with the knowledge that they had survived, it still stung that Kai was an entire realm away. He wouldn't be there to bail Lloyd out of his dumb mistakes this time, which was a shame, because he was really setting a record here.

"I just like my eyebrows," he finished instead. He eyed Morro briefly, then continued. "Your hair wouldn't be much of a loss though, so I'd get why you'd want to be closer."

Morro stared at him, his mouth half-open as his eyebrows drew into an angry scowl. "Did you just—"

Shouts finally began echoing from the front gate, and within seconds the loud clanging of the alarm was ringing through the courtyard they'd hidden in.

"That's our cue," Lloyd said quickly, ducking out from the pillar and away from Morro's enraged look. "Time to go!"

"Don't think I'm gonna forget that comment, you stuck-up brat—"

" _Time_ to _go!_ " Lloyd repeated emphatically, grabbing the edge of Morro's sleeve and hauling him away from the explosion they'd caused, which was slowly dying down to a burning blaze of rubble.

Dark figures were flooding out from what used to be the gateway, crowding around the blaze as they barked at each other, and Lloyd didn't want to get caught this early in the plan. Morro yanked his sleeve from Lloyd with a scowl, but he followed after him, the two keeping close as they sprinted through the courtyard and back toward the palace. They skidded around the corner, and Morro's hand suddenly shot out, grabbing Lloyd's arm and hauling him behind one of the large bushes that lined the courtyard. A second later, the palace doors in front of them were slammed open, and three bikers rushed out. Lloyd's stomach turned as Killow followed, orange mask glinting where it was strapped to his back.

"Nice one," he breathed as they finally passed, leaving him and Morro in the empty courtyard, sirens ringing loudly around them.

"Who was that creep?" Morro craned his head out from behind the bush, his eyes narrowed. "And why'd you freak out over that mask?"

 _Right_ , Lloyd remembered sourly. Morro could pick up on ninety percent of what was going on in his head, if he wasn't careful. That would probably be smart to _remember_ —

"That was Killow," Lloyd murmured, watching as their backs disappeared around the palace wall. "And that was the Mask of Deception."

Morro's eyes went wide, and Lloyd felt a pulse of shock vibrate over the link. "Wait, really?" Morro stepped out entirely from behind the bush, staring after them. "Like the Oni Mask?"

"Ye— wait. You know what they are?" Lloyd blinked.

"Yeah," Morro exhaled, a shadow flashing across his face. "Your uncle told me."

Something twisted unpleasantly in Lloyd's chest. Wu had told Morro what the Oni Masks were long before they posed a threat, yet he'd completely failed to mention they even _existed_ to his other students, much less his own nephew?

Lloyd shoved back the unexpected sting. There must have been a good reason for Sensei Wu to keep it quiet. It wasn't like he _didn't_ trust Lloyd.

…and it wasn't like he could answer the question right now anyways, Lloyd reminded himself dully.

"Okay," he shook himself. "We gotta move."

"Right." Morro shook his own head, following just behind Lloyd as they crept toward the now-open doors. Lloyd slid in first, back against the wall as he eyed the hallways. Once he was sure they were empty, he gestured to Morro, and they moved further down the halls, treading a path Lloyd was vaguely familiar with. They finally came upon the enormous, ornate doors that barred the throne room.

"This looks way too obvious," Morro frowned, as they stood before the doors. "Are you sure this is the best way?"

"It's the quickest," Lloyd said. "I doubt anyone will have made it back here yet. The Sons of Garmadon are kinda like lemmings — throw a big explosion their way and they'll all go running after it."

"I'm not sure that's what lemmings do," Morro muttered, but he followed Lloyd's lead, bracing his shoulder against the doors.

They both shoved, and with a heavy creaking the doors were thrown open, leaving Lloyd and Morro to stumble into the huge room. It took Lloyd a moment, but his eyes widened as he took in what was left of the throne room. While the burnished gold designs on the floor beneath them still shone, the rest of the decorations, thrones and all, lay utterly destroyed. Rubble still scattered the room, and most of the ceiling was gone, smoke from the explosion filtering across the open night sky above them. The little of the ceiling that remained along the edge seemed precarious, especially the half-destroyed chandelier that dangled lazily over them, hanging by mere strings.

Morro took a step forward, his muffled footsteps echoing eerily against the empty room. "Wow," he whistled. "Bet this used to be nice."

"In a rich sort of way," Lloyd muttered, then nodded his head to the doors on the other side. "The east gate should be that way. We can sight-see later, let's go."

Morro huffed, but he fell into step alongside Lloyd, picking up the pace as they crossed the large expanse of the royal floor. Morro's head whipped from side to side as they ran, his eyes narrowed.

"I still think it's weird that they'd leave this room empty," he said, his voice suspicious.

"Told you," Lloyd huffed as they hurried across the ornate floors, dodging fallen rubble. "They're like lemmings. Send 'em one place and we're all clear—"

The door on the other side of the room slammed open, and Lloyd and Morro were forced to skid to a violent halt as what looked like half a regiment's worth of the Sons of Garmadon spilled into the throne room with them.

"What was that about being _all clear?_ " Morro drawled at him, sarcasm practically dripping from his voice.

Lloyd bit his lip, glaring at the crowd before them. "Not a word," he ground out.

The lead biker grinned as he stepped to the front of the group, the painted designs on his face distorting as he leered at them. "Going somewhere, Green Ninja?" he taunted. "Daddy's been _real_ worried about you, y'know."

Lloyd's glare grew hotter, and he grit his teeth. Yeah, he'd _bet_ he was. Real worried Lloyd would get blood on his floors, probably.

"Don't worry," the biker grinned, grabbing a sword from his belt, the others pulling out their own weapons. Lloyd quickly took note of the long-range weapons in the bunch — two crossbows, one gun. Those would need to go first, if they were going to get out of this—

"We'll get you right back to your old man," the biker continued, beginning to edge toward them. "Though I can't guarantee you'll be in one piece."

The threat echoed across the room, and Lloyd grasped the daggers Harumi had given him, his eyes flicking briefly to Morro then back to the bikers, who were preparing to strike.

"Wait, no we won't," another biker suddenly frowned at the leader. "We're s'posed to bring him back unharmed, remember? He needs 'em for—"

"Would you _shut up?!_ " the lead biker hissed, whirling on his companion. "You're ruining my—"

Lloyd seized that moment to lash out, sending one dagger into the gun-wielding biker's hand, and the other toward the half of the ornate chandelier barely hanging above them. The biker he'd hit went down with a cry of pain, just as the other dagger sliced through the remaining wires holding the chandelier. With a sharp _snap_ , what was left of the chandelier went plummeting, right toward the bikers that stood beneath it.

" _Move!_ " the leader roared, just as Lloyd cried at Morro "Go!"

Morro needed no motivation, having already sprung forward, lunging toward the nearest biker and slamming his elbow in his face before twisting him to the ground. They clashed as the chandelier came crashing down with an ear-shattering _boom_ , sending bikers stumbling forward as glass flew in every direction. Lloyd rushed forward, dropping to a knee and sliding between two of them, slashing at one's leg and kicking out the other's.

Both went down with a yelp, and Lloyd staggered to his feet — then barely managed to dodge aside before a crossbow bolt hit him in the face, instead whipping strands of his hair as it zipped past. Lloyd's eyes went wide, and he just managed to duck a hit from a biker as another bolt came flying, this one knocking the dagger from his hand.

Cursing, Lloyd sprang into a handspring-turned-somersault, dodging the bikers as his fingers scrabbled desperately for the lost dagger. Above him, he could hear Morro's wild war cry as he took another guard out, this one with a neatly-placed chop the throat.

 _Come on, come on, where'd it go—_

His fingers caught hold of the dagger, and he made to stand — only to get clocked viciously in the head by the hilt of a sword.

Lloyd gave a cry of pain as he stumbled back, clutching his head as his vision swam. Stupid, _stupid_ , what a stupid move, he should've seen that coming—

He was forced from his internal scolding as the sword came swinging down again, and he dove to the side, head still spinning from the hit as he tried to reorient himself. Another crossbow bolt came whistling toward him, and he barely managed to roll to the side, scrambling to his feet as he tried to regain his bearings.

 _Screw this_ , Lloyd thought tightly. They had elemental power, why weren't they _using_ it?

"A little wind would be nice!" Lloyd called to Morro, his voice strained as he dodged another bolt.

Morro rolled his eyes, before sending an attacker slamming to the ground with a round-house kick. "Nice orders coming from the powerless kid," he taunted through his heavy breathing.

Lloyd stared at him incredulously, before being forced to duck a vicious punch. "Are you serious?" he yelped. "Just use your powers and get us out of this!"

"Fine, fine. But don't get any ideas about who's in charge, here." Morro stomped on the hand of the biker he'd sent to the floor, who was reaching for his weapon. He then straightened, bringing his fist up with a vicious grin — then sent it thrusting out at the other bikers.

Lloyd watched tensely, half-bracing for the familiar howl of wind.

And then waited.

Nothing happened. The air in the room remained still, and the biker he'd been about to attack frowned at him, clearly as confused as he was. Morro's eyebrows drew together, and he glanced down at his hand.

The biker he'd been facing seemed oddly curious, regarding him. Lloyd recognized him as the one who'd wanted to keep him in one piece. "Was something supposed to happen?"

Morro stared at his hands, flexing, his mouth opening then closing tightly. He glared at the biker, teeth bared as took a step back. The biker began to advance again, and Morro shoved out his hand once more, his expression creasing in horror as nothing continued to happen.

"What's wrong?" Lloyd cried at him, snapped from his own stupor and struggling to evade another crossbow bolt. "Why aren't you blasting them?"

Morro's eyes dilated in panic. "I can't," he gasped, frantically clenching and unclenching his hands, his expression one of numb shock. "I can't — my power — it's not working, I can't feel it!"

Lloyd stared, his own expression tipping into horror. _No_ , he thought in panic. No, it couldn't be, surely Lloyd's own loss of power wouldn't take Morro's too—

The biker with the crossbow suddenly changed targets, his eyes narrowing in on Morro where he stood frozen. He raised the crossbow again, fingers poised over the trigger. Lloyd's eyes went wide.

"Morro look out!"

 _No time_. Lloyd sprang forward, slamming into Morro and knocking them both from the line of fire and they stumbled back, throwing his hand up defensively—

—a familiar icy cold rushed him, flooding his veins and choking him. For a heartbeat, he was drowning again, control ripped away, his self disappearing — then the torrent evened out, sliding apart and dividing, clicking into place like the piece of a puzzle as one eye went hazy. A surge of energy rushed up through his veins, tearing through his blood like a hurricane, through his arm and out his fingertips in a howling gale of wind that blasted the bikers in the way a good hundred feet back, crossbow bolts and all.

Lloyd gaped, his arm still frozen outward in place. Morro's shock echoing through his brain didn't help.

 ** _What was that?!_** Morro's voice was utterly baffled where it rang in his mind, buzzing with adrenaline.

 _T-that was wind, right?_ Lloyd thought back dizzily, his head spinning as he tried to bring it back under control. _We used your element, I guess—_

 ** _No, this was — this was different._** Morro sounded as if he was on the precipice between excitement and terror, and settling instead on confusion. **_Even when I could use it normally — that was too powerful. That was way too powerful for what you did._**

Lloyd blinked, his mind racing in an entirely different direction. Had _his_ power returned? If Morro's power had, then maybe—

The dividing line suddenly blurred, Morro's thoughts smashing into his own like a freight train, and Lloyd nearly lost his balance as his own terror spiked. He wavered in place, the walls between his and Morro's consciousness blurring briefly. The balance tilted like a horrible kind of see-saw for a moment, nausea slamming into Lloyd's gut as it did Morro's, before it evened out again, Lloyd's vision solidifying as his veins sung with unused power.

 _Get out_ , Lloyd thought hazily. _Need you out—_

 ** _What? No way, then I'll lose my power again! Do you not feel this?_**

 _Oh I feel it, I don't want it—_

A cry of anger snapped them from their internal argument. The other bikers were finding their feet again, the ones that had been far enough away not to get caught up in the blast already rushing at them. Lloyd noted the one left with the crossbow in particular, the weapon already pointed at him.

Lloyd bit back a curse.

 ** _No time,_** Morro yelped in his head. **_Use my power again, quick!_**

 _What?!_ Lloyd thought frantically, stepping back. _No, I don't know how—_

 ** _Then let me in!_**

 _No!_

 ** _Then you have to work with me!_** Morro cried in frustration.

The bikers were almost upon them, and for a second Lloyd froze, feeling like his heart was about to explode. Too much, this was too much, he couldn't—

 ** _Lloyd I swear, you'll be in control this time!_** Morro howled. **_Just do it before we both die!_**

Lloyd swore, tight and desperate.

The he closed his eyes, shoved a breath out, and let his hands go slack. He let the adrenaline take over, narrowing his vision, the conflict and battle the only thing on his mind, in his world. He let the focus wash over him, forcing himself to keep that calm even as the walls between him and Morro blurred again.

Then he slid his foot back, anchored himself in place, brought his hand up and _pushed_.

Wind erupted from his fingertips like a canon, shoving the biker that had been about to slash them through to the side, slamming him against a wall with an ugly crack.

 ** _Hell yeah!_** Morro's giddy shout echoed through his brain. **_That's more like it_**.

Lloyd felt Morro's presence pushing at his other hand, and with a brief flicker of terror he let him have it. The abnormally _weird_ feeling of someone else pulling his arm up almost broke his focus, but Lloyd kept his vision forward, on the enemy.

The enemy wasn't Morro. Not this time. Not right now.

Morro pushed forward, claiming Lloyd's legs for a beat as he dodged another biker. Lloyd immediately took back over, imitating Morro's movement with his own lighter footsteps. Morro slashed his arm out in a chopping motion, shoving the air currents in the room into a knife-like blade of freezing wind at another group of bikers. Lloyd relinquished the other arm as Morro brought it up, power singing through their veins as he channeled the wind into a cycloned burst that caught their attackers off their feet.

The line between them blurred until it was almost indistinct as they moved, Lloyd's focus mixing with Morro's adrenaline in a deadly kind of rhythm. Wind beat at Lloyd's clothes, whipping through his hair as it gathered around him, feather-like currents brushing against his skin before they turned harsh and wild, snapping out at their attackers.

Lloyd felt an almost giddy sense of excitement flood him, mixing with Morro's own. Another crossbow bolt came whistling toward them, and Morro snapped it aside with a flick of their hand. Lloyd's eyes found the biker holding it, and narrowed. The biker took a step back, his eyes wide as he raised the crossbow again.

"Too late," Lloyd grinned through bared teeth, as Morro swept his hands in an arc. The biker went flying with a shrill scream, skidding across the palace floor before slamming into the far wall, unconscious, crossbow broken.

They stood in the center of the throne room, chest heaving as they panted, adrenaline still screaming through their blood. Lloyd felt a shaky smile pulling at his lips.

 ** _How many do you think are dead?_** Morro asked.

The smile dropped. Lloyd's eyes went wide. _Wha— none! But we probably gave them all nasty concussions,_ he thought with guilt.

 ** _Guilt?!_** Morro echoed incredulously. **_Are you kidding me? They were going to skewer us! Get your priories in order, I swear, this is why you always lose—_**

New shouts echoed from the hallway chamber, and Morro's — Lloyd's — _their_ head snapped around. A new group of another twenty or so armed bikers were pouring from the doors, stepping over their barely-stirring comrades that Lloyd and Morro had knocked back.

Lloyd cursed. _That's the door we need to get through_ , he thought in despair, staring at the hallway beyond the bikers. _We don't have time for this. Garmadon could already be halfway to the palace._

 ** _Just fly over them, then,_** Morro echoed through his head. **_We can bypass them easy, just push us up._**

For some unknown reason that sounded like it made enough sense, and Lloyd's legs burst into a sprint without a thought, taking him toward the armed guards. He was about fifteen feet away when he remembered something rather vital.

 _Wait_ — _I don't know how to fly!_ he shrieked at Morro.

 ** _Shove your hands down!_** Morro yelled. **_Like you're pushing yourself up! Grab the power and shove it down!_**

Panicking, Lloyd did as Morro said — and immediately shot a good fifty feet in the air, well above the bikers' heads. Morro gave a startled cry of panic. A dizzying sense of vertigo swept through Lloyd as they wavered briefly in the air, floating effortlessly with nothing beneath their feet. There was a brief flare of joy — Lloyd was _flying!_ — before gravity took control again, and they began plummeting toward the ground.

Terror very quickly came flooding back.

Morro sounded less concerned about their impending death than he did their wind power. **_How'd you get us this high?!_**

Lloyd did the logical thing, and answered by screaming.

 ** _Stop that, you're making us look ridiculous! Stop the fall, same way you started it!_**

Lloyd's arms windmilled wildly as he fell, his stomach in his throat as the floor grew closer and closer. He finally reoriented himself enough to grasp desperately at the wind, and _yanked._ Seconds before he smashed into the ground, a freezing gale of wind shoved him back up, smacking him into a wall before sending him tumbling to the ground with an _oof_.

Lloyd gave a muffled groan. He pushed himself up on hands scraped from the rough stone floor, rolling slightly and assessing how many limbs he'd broken. While he was definitely going to be sore tomorrow, nothing seemed to be broken, which was the first stroke of luck in this _awful_ day.

 ** _Tell that to my head_** , Morro sent him sourly.

Lloyd shook his head, his vision doubling as Morro's own dizziness crashed into his. Forcing himself to his feet, Lloyd staggered toward the doors, the Sons of Garmadon finally having recovered their wits and already moving toward them.

 _Door, closed,_ Lloyd managed to get through his head. Morro understood, snapping them straight and grasping for the door, slamming it closed with their combined strength and pulling the lock down after.

 ** _That should hold them for about, oh, a minute._**

 _That's why we run_ , Lloyd replied, his legs already starting into a sprint as cries echoed from the other side of the door. His eyes darted around as they fled down the hall, noting the different hallways and trying to place where they were.

 _East gate, east gate, meet by the red door, why couldn't she give me more to go on—_

 ** _Red doors, down there._**

Lloyd turned on heel, skidding around the corner and following where Morro was taking their gaze. Sure enough, the decorated gold of the hallways changed to red just to their right. Lloyd glanced back down the hallway, making sure they were still alone, then slid through the red door, clicking it quietly closed behind him. Both minds were still racing, but the adrenaline quieted as they stood in the empty antechamber, wide windows overlooking the smoking city beyond them.

 _Now we wait, I guess,_ Lloyd thought. This was as far as they could go without Harumi.

 ** _Unless we decide to ditch her_** , Morro suggested, but there was little resolve in his tone. He was as clueless as Lloyd was about the ancient palace.

 _I wish_ , Lloyd thought back with wry amusement, leaning against one of the windowsills and bracing his hands on his knees, exhaling shakily. He straightened up, wincing as the scrapes on his hands stung. Morro tugged for control of his hands, the odd pull of his power taking over, and Lloyd reluctantly let him have it for a moment.

A light whistling kicked up in the antechamber, wispy power thrumming in Lloyd's hands. He stared at his fingers, marveling at the gentle currents of wind that wove themselves between them, chilling his stinging hands with the coolness of the breeze.

 ** _So is this what the green power's like?_** Morro suddenly thought, more colored in curiosity than anything else. **_It kicks everything else up a level?_**

Lloyd shook his head, before realizing the gesture was basically useless. _I don't know. I don't have that power right now._

 ** _You sure about that?_**

Lloyd stared at his hands, then clenched them into fists, cringing at the cold emptiness he felt in his chest. _Positive_ , he thought, miserably.

Morro pulled back, flinching at the wave of despair that swept Lloyd. **_Hey, keep that away from me_** , he huffed. ** _It's depressing._**

 _You're the one who needs to keep away_ , Lloyd seethed. But Morro was right — Lloyd's useless self-pity wouldn't get them anywhere. They needed to get _out of here_ , so he could finally kick Morro out of his head again and have some peace and quiet.

 ** _You're the one with the mind that's running a mile a minute_** , Morro sulked. **_It's like listening to breaking glass in here all day._**

The noise of a door sliding open yanked them both up, Lloyd's body snapping into a defensive stance. He relaxed a fraction as Harumi's unmistakable white hair came into view, her expression tense but satisfied.

"You get it?" he asked.

Harumi nodded, still checking over her shoulder at the door. "Yes, but we need to hurry—"

She paused as her eyes landed on Lloyd, going wide as she fell quiet.

Lloyd frowned. "What?"

Harumi shook her head, gesturing wordlessly to his face. "Your hair, and — eyes," she finally said, in explanation. "You've got — scarring, or something."

Lloyd blinked. He whipped around, staring at his reflection in the darkened window. His stomach immediately turned. It wasn't a perfect mirror, but he could see well enough. The face staring back looked much like he had when Morro had possessed him the first time, hair jet-black and eye sockets encrusted in eerie scarring.

The eyes were different, though — Lloyd could still see _himself_. He could still feel himself, he just — had half of Morro's thoughts running through his brain. It made sense that his appearance would change, too.

He raised his hand again, curling and uncurling his fist reflexively. His fingers responded easily, and Lloyd felt a swell of relief.

 ** _I told you_** , Morro scoffed. **_You're in control this time._**

Lloyd let his hand drop, exhaling shakily. He found himself surprisingly comforted by that, even if anxiety still churned in his gut. Carefully, Lloyd made sure to pull the wall back up, keeping his mind separate from Morro's — but not quite as violently as he had before. Like, leaving a window open, or something, he tried to envision. Separating them both without entirely breaking the connection they had to wind.

 ** _We're sharing the same body, you're not gonna get very far._**

"It's fine," Lloyd finally said, realizing Harumi was still staring him. "Just a side effect, of the, um…"

"Right," Harumi sighed, irritation flashing cross her face. "The possession thing." Her head tilted, eyes suddenly curious. "So he's…in your brain, right now?"

"Uh…" Lloyd rubbed the back of his head, suddenly incredibly uncomfortable. "Sort of?"

Morro seemed no less at ease, grumbling in the back of his mind uneasily.

Harumi surveyed him for another second, leaving Lloyd feeling much like a strange bug under a microscope, which was only a fraction better than how Harumi normally made him feel when she looked at him like… _that_.

 ** _Wait, like what?_**

Lloyd shook Morro off. "Okay, we got what we needed," he said, the sense of anxiety growing stronger beneath his skin. "Let's get out of here. Can we still get out through the gate?"

"We should be able to," Harumi nodded, starting for the passageway furthest from them. "The explosion should have grouped everyone at the southern end. If we follow this to the doors, then we ought to be able to slip out unnoticed."

Lloyd quickened his pace, catching up to her. "Great," he said. "Then we head into the city and—"

He cut off, freezing as Harumi did. Voices were echoing down the hallway, coming from the direction they were heading. Footsteps followed soon after, and Lloyd's head whipped around to stare accusingly at Harumi.

"You said it would be empty."

"I said it _might,_ " she hissed, taking a step back. Her eyes darted around them, and she bit her lip. "Okay. Get your dagger out."

"We're fighting?" Lloyd asked. A burst of excitement came from Morro.

"No," Harumi said — then she was suddenly pressed up against him, grabbing for his arm. Lloyd jerked back, his pulse skyrocketing.

"What are you _doing?_ " he whispered, almost a screech.

Harumi stared at him in irritation. "You're holding me captive, obviously!" she snapped. "Now make that dagger look threatening, before I change my mind and turn you over instead."

Lloyd stared at her briefly, every bone of his body warring against him. The voices grew closer, and he bit his lip.

Aw, _heck_ —

He pulled Harumi to him, gingerly pinning her arms behind her and holding the dagger in the vague direction of her neck. "That good enough?"

"You grip like a dead fish," Harumi muttered back, but she abruptly fell silent as the voices rounded the corner, revealing two Sons of Garmadon. The two bikers froze, their eyes wide on the scene before them.

"Uh, hi," Lloyd said, weakly. "I'm kidnapping your leader, so just...run off, would you. Before I, uh, kill her."

Harumi made a tiny, stifled noise of exasperation. Morro said nothing, but the emotions he was projecting felt a whole lot like he was judging him.

The Sons of Garmadon didn't move, their eyes narrowed. Lloyd's arm went tense, and he brought the dagger closer to her neck.

One of the bikers stepped forward, a hand raised almost placatingly. "You don't want to do that," he said, his voice low and grating. "It won't end well for you."

"Wanna bet?" Lloyd shot back, tightly.

The other biker just grinned, sliding a knife from his belt. "Garmadon's in the palace now," he drawled, running his fingers over the edge of the blade. "Only so long before he finds you."

Harumi stiffened, and Lloyd's heart skipped a beat. "A-and if he finds his second in command dead because of you, I doubt he'll be happy," Lloyd snapped, trying to sound confident.

The first biker faltered, a note of fear flickering across his face. The other, however, simply smirked, flipping his blade in his hand once before moving toward them.

"Don't get any closer," Lloyd threatened, brandishing the dagger toward Harumi. "Or I _will_ kill her."

The biker paused, staring at him through narrowed eyes. Then he laughed. Harumi was tensing so tightly, Lloyd thought she might snap.

"You?" the biker snickered. "Please. You don't have it in you."

Lloyd blinked at him, then threw his dagger-wielding arm in the air. "Seriously?" he exclaimed, irritation building in his chest as Morro snickered at him in the back of his mind. "Is everyone just dead-set on the fact that I apparently can't kill anyone?"

 ** _You're just not threatening enough._**

Lloyd opened his mouth to retort, but both the Sons of Garmadon were moving closer now, and he shut his mouth with a tight click, pulling the dagger closer to Harumi. He bit back a curse. What was he supposed to do if they didn't buy it? He couldn't _really_ slice Harumi through the throat, obviously, this was a horrible idea—

 ** _Pretend to choke,_** Morro ordered.

Lloyd frowned, but the first biker took another step closer, sword glinting, so Lloyd tensed up and let his eyes roll back, clutching at his throat. Morro suddenly shifted, sliding out of Lloyd with a terrifying hiss, his skin green and translucent, the scarring around his eyes thrown into definition by the light.

The bikers' eyes went wide in terror, their confidence vanishing. Morro gave a vicious, sharp-teethed smirk, and the guards screamed, dropping their weapons.

Morro rolled his eyes, stepped back into Lloyd's body, and shoved them back with a burst of wind. He then pulled at Lloyd's mouth, until he let him have it.

" ** _Die_** ," Morro growled through his lips, the words harsh and scraping.

The bikers didn't need to be told twice. They turned on heel, sprinting desperately for the doors as they screamed about _demons_ and _death_ and _not worth the pay._

Lloyd couldn't decide whether he was exasperated or amused.

"Was that really necessary," Harumi sighed as she yanked herself away from Lloyd. He couldn't help but notice the glint of amusement in her eyes, though.

"Didn't see either of you coming up with any good plans," Morro quipped, sliding fully from Lloyd's body. They both shuddered, skin crawling as they separated. Harumi watched them with a half-fascinated, half-revolted look on her face.

"Finally," Lloyd murmured in relief, running his hands through what he _hoped_ was blond hair.

Morro stared at his hands, eyebrows furrowing in concentration. His shoulders slumped, and he kicked his heel against the floor.

"We might be stuck together a lot more than I thought," he muttered. "If we want to have elemental power on our side."

Lloyd bit his lip, the realization crashing into him as his heart sank. Clearly, Morro only had access to his power if they were sharing Lloyd's body. Wasn't that just — what a _fantastic_ development.

Lloyd stared at Morro, then looked at his hands, powerless and covered in scrapes. He looked up at Morro.

"Last resort only," he said, slowly. "Okay? Otherwise, we stay apart."

Morro shrugged. "Trust me, I don't want to be in your mind any longer than I have to, either," he scowled.

"That's that, then," Lloyd nodded. He turned to Harumi. "So are we going, or…Harumi?"

Harumi said nothing. Her face had suddenly gone white, and she was staring at the wall with a distant expression of fear.

"He said Garmadon was in the palace," she finally whispered. "He'd have to come through the east gate. And if he — he'd know. He'd _know_. He'd know that's the only other way out."

Lloyd's stomach dropped. "And the others—"

Harumi shook her head. "The west is caved in, and the north is blocked off," she said, her expression brittle. "If Garmadon's really here, it's a safe bet they've already got us surrounded."

Lloyd went quiet. Morro muttered a curse, making an aborted gesture, then pulled a hand tightly through his hair. Lloyd closed his eyes briefly, tilting his head back as his mind raced.

They couldn't just give up. Not now. They'd gotten this far — they couldn't go back, and they certainly couldn't lose already, not with what was at stake. Lloyd refused to. He wasn't giving up, and he _definitely_ wasn't going back in some cage dangling in the air—

Lloyd's eyes snapped open, and he stared at the spiraling ceiling above them. Harumi had said the gates were blocked off. She'd said nothing about the roof.

He looked to her, hope sparking. "The sky trams," he said. "If we can get to the roof, are there—"

"Cables, yes, they run right by," Harumi finished, understanding dawning in her eyes. "The southeast side."

Lloyd nodded. "If we can get to the station, those cables stretch all over the city," he said, breathlessly. "They'll be expecting us to escape through the gate, they won't even think to look up."

"That — that could work," Harumi murmured, her hand pulling at a strand of hair that'd fallen in her face. "I can get us to the roof."

Morro looked between them both. "Then what are we waiting for?" he said. "A royal send-off?"

Harumi's expression went tight, and she turned narrowed eyes on him. "If your only contribution is going to be _quipping_ , then maybe—"

"Roof, now, let's go," Lloyd cut over them, pushing at them both. "C'mon, before we run into anyone else."

Harumi and Morro scowled, grumbling at him, but they complied, Harumi taking the lead as they broke for the stairs. Lloyd followed close behind, his eyes glued ahead, mind racing as something in his chest grew cold.

Garmadon was in the palace. He was close.

 _FSM_ , he really hoped those cables hadn't been destroyed.


	7. Chapter 7

**No excuse for how late this is, other than that finals conked me over the head with crippling insecurity writer's block this year :( Sorry updates have been so sparse, but I'm getting back into the swing of things, so here's hoping it won't be as bad!**

 **A big thank you as always to everyone who took the time to review - I know it took me forever to update, but it would've taken me a lot longer if I hadn't been motivated to actually work through and write this, and you guys are always a huge encouragement :'D (And I swear I'm getting to replies soon ahhHHH I always lose track of stuff during the holidays rip).**

 **So anyways, back to the disaster trio! Finally making some ground, even if it's not...much.**

* * *

Smoke billowed from the entrance of the royal palace, the fire from the blast still burning where it'd caught to the supporting beams on the gate, ancient stone blackening where the bright tongues of flame licked against it. Even with the heat of the blaze, the rest of the palace had yet to catch fire. The blast was contained, if destructive, and the inhabitants had little to fear of losing the entire palace.

No, their fear was much better put to use elsewhere.

An almost oppressive shadow fell upon the gaping opening where the doors once stood, as if darkness itself was stepping through the threshold. The harsh shouts and clamor of weapons fell one by one into a stifled silence as the shadow passed, heavy footsteps thudding against the marbled floors with a deadly, malicious intent.

No one dared address him. One didn't need to ask to know what had the dark lord in a foul temper, and it wasn't just the destruction of his place gate.

"Where is he."

The closest Sons of Garmadon shuddered at the voice as it echoed across the room, low and growling as if from an ancient beast.

"S-somewhere in the palace, my lord," a woman spoke up, her eyes cast to the floor. "A number of our men confronted him in the throne room, but they were…outmatched."

Garmadon's lip curled, and the woman shrank. "Outmatched," he repeated, slowly. "Outmatched by a single, powerless boy."

"There was — there was another," the woman spoke quickly, sweat forming on her brow. "A dark-haired companion, who—" She swallowed, her eyes darting to and fro. "He did something to help him. I don't know what, but — it was like they controlled the air! We stood no chance—"

Garmadon took a step forward, and the woman cut off, swallowing. "The air," he spoke, as if rolling the word over on his tongue. "Interesting."

The woman cast a look of desperation to her companions behind her. They kept their eyes averted, clearly in the interest of looking out for their own skin. The woman's mouth twisted, and for a beat her fear was replaced by a look of consternation.

"And what of the Quiet One?" Garmadon continued, snapping her attention back to him. "Where is the princess?"

The woman shrank smaller in on herself, if possible. "They…took her," she said, wincing as she spoke. "The last guards reported seeing your son—"

Garmadon's fist tightened, glowing purple, and the woman sucked in a breath, falling silent. For a second, it seemed as if he would strike out at her, but then the glow died, and his hand lowered.

The woman swallowed, amending. "They said…the _boy_ …had a knife at her neck." She took a shaky breath. "His companion was helping."

Garmadon's eyes darkened, his head lowering. "He grows too bold," he ground out, beneath his breath. He straightened, his eyes flashing a bright purple as he fixed his gaze on them. "I want him found," he commanded, his voice cold. "You will free the Quiet One, then bring the boy to me." His eyes slid to the group of bikers at the back, still sporting bruises from the earlier confrontation with the escapees.

"I want him alive," he said sharply. His eyes narrowed. "And intact."

There was a flurry of nodding, punctuated by a low murmur of " _yes, my lord_ ". The woman almost seemed to collapse with relief, before being dragged off by one of her companions, following the others as they split off through the palace. Garmadon stopped for a moment, his eyes lingering on the still-billowing smoke that drifted past the windows. One of the bikers paused, addressing him.

"What will you do, my lord?"

The edge of Garmadon's mouth curled, his eyes hooded. "I will be in my room," he said. "There is something I must see to, first."

* * *

"They're coming!"

Lloyd's warning gasped through the room as he sprinted up the spiraling stair case, glancing over the railing before skipping another three steps at a time. The clamoring footsteps behind them were drawing closer — too close. So much for their head start.

" _Really_ ," Harumi ground out from where she followed behind him, between harsh breaths. "I hadn't noticed."

"I bet it's the makeup in your eyes," Morro shot at her, keeping pace beside Lloyd. "Can really cloud your vision."

Lloyd made a face as Harumi and Morro continued to spit insults at each other, their words growing more and more breathless as they continued to climb. _Why_ the royals thought they needed so many stairs was beyond him. He'd thought eternal steps was just one of those sadistic things Uncle Wu would spring for, but the palace was giving him a run for his money.

Lloyd glanced back over the railing, and his stomach dropped as he caught the flash of weapons and the distinctive painted jackets of the Sons of Garmadon. There didn't seem to be too many on their heels, but the fact that they had even caught up with them in the first place…

"How many more flights do we have?" he directed at Harumi between breaths.

"Two," Harumi replied, sounding relieved at the fact. "Then there's a storage room, which has a maintenance door to the roof."

"Right." He cast another glance behind him. "We might have to fight."

"Great," Morro said, his teeth glinting as he bared them. "Anything's better than climbing like this."

Lloyd shook his head, sliding his hand against the railing and using it to pull him faster, skipping four steps this time. "What," he said. "Not used to this much running?"

He could hear Morro's teeth grind from behind him. "I'm at a great position to kick your knees out right now, you know," he muttered.

Lloyd could hear the edge of exhaustion in his voice though, hidden by fierce stubbornness as it was. Morro might be an excellent fighter — Lloyd had to give him _that_ — but he had to be quickly realizing that being tethered to a human body, after being a ghost for so long, was dragging him down. The unfamiliarity of it had to be putting him at a disadvantage, not to mention the _stairs_. Climbing ten flights at a dead sprint might be regular training for Lloyd, but no one else lived with sadistic uncles who liked to make their students sprint up the monastery steps every morning.

…that he knew of.

"There!"

Lloyd followed Harumi's gloved finger to the doorway at the end of the staircase, banking hard toward it. For once, something was _unlocked_ today, and Lloyd easily threw it open, letting Morro and Harumi slide through before slamming it closed, shoving the lock in place then plastering his back against it.

"Okay," he said, then winced as someone crashed against the door from the other side, trying in vain to rattle it open. "Where's this other door?"

"Right here." Harumi stepped over a set of small, industrial steps that led to the rectangular trap door in the ceiling. "It leads right out to the furthest rooftop, see?"

She pulled at the latch, as if to prove her point. Then frowned, adjusted her stance, and pulled again, her arm straining this time. The door creaked, but made no other movement. Harumi stood back, biting her lip as she glared at it.

"What are you waiting for?" Morro frowned.

"It's locked," Harumi said, as if the idea was foreign to her.

Morro stared at her. "Then unlock it!"

"I can't, I don't have the key!"

Lloyd squeezed his eyes shut, letting his head drop where he stood, still pinning the door shut. "Are you kidding—"

The rest of his sentence was rudely interrupted as the door suddenly swung open with enough force to send him sprawling gracelessly to the floor with a yelp, narrowly missing being trampled by the five men that rushed through, their own momentum carrying them too far.

Morro let out a sharp curse before springing forward, ducking the swing of the first biker's sword and sending him crumpling down with a solid hit to the chin. Harumi remained frozen, her eyes wide. Lloyd met her gaze for a brief second, realization hitting him. If they wanted to keep the advantage they had with Harumi's status, she couldn't fight back against her own men. Not unless they killed them after.

Lloyd grit his teeth, shoving himself to his feet and narrowly dodging a biker that came hollering at him. Side-stepping again, Lloyd drew his attacker closer — then slammed the door back on its hinges, right in his face, sending him sprawling to the floor with a moan.

 _Payback_ , he thought to himself, snatching the fallen sword and charging toward the remaining bikers. Morro appeared locked with one, flipping his daggers once in his hand before trapping his assailant's sword between them, preparing to twist it from his grasp. Lloyd's eyes widened, and he called out.

"Duck!"

To his surprise, Morro complied, which gave Lloyd the perfect window to send his stolen sword hurtling through the air, where it sliced through the upper armor of the biker who'd been about to jump Morro, thudding solidly into the wall behind and pinning him neatly. Morro followed it up with a sharp jab from his elbow to the face, knocking him unconscious.

Twisting back, he finally threw the other biker to the ground, then stood, blinking once at the pinned man, then at Lloyd. Lloyd merely shrugged at him, and Morro's lips quirked into a half-grin.

A grin that quickly faded as his eyes went wide.

 _Watch out!_ rang in alarm through Lloyd's head. The warning came a moment too late. As if out of nowhere, the fifth biker sprang forward, his dagger arcing out and slicing across Lloyd's collar bone, just barely avoiding hitting him in the neck.

Lloyd gave a cry of surprise, clapping his hand over his shoulder as he barely managed to duck another swing of the knife, now flecked with blood. Glaring hotly, Lloyd slid beneath the next swing and latched onto the biker's arm, dropping his own shoulder and twisting before he hauled the man off his feet, slamming him into the floor with a choked grunt of pain.

Morro swiftly kicked at the man's hand, the knife skittering away across the floor, before delivering a solid blow to his temple — with his boot. Lloyd cringed as the biker slumped into unconsciousness, his face significantly worse for wear. Across the room, Harumi breathed a sigh of relief, her fingers still gripping her own knife tightly.

 _That was too close_ , Lloyd thought.

"You good?" Morro huffed, rolling his shoulders as he straightened. He seemed otherwise unharmed, if a tad disgruntled.

Lloyd blinked at the question, then immediately remembered as the wound across his collarbone stung with pain. He pressed a hand over it, making a face.

"Yeah, s'not that deep," he muttered. A bit humiliating, if anything. It was a sad reminder of how terrible Lloyd's reflexes were today.

Morro shrugged, seemingly satisfied as he swiped at his cheek. Lloyd frowned, then his eyes widened as he realized his earlier assessment was incorrect.

"He got you?" Lloyd half-asked, half-exclaimed as he stepped forward, trying to force Morro's hand from his face so he could see the damage. Morro might still technically be a ghost, but the tether was leaving him more human than not, and Lloyd was _pretty_ sure ghosts didn't bleed like that—

Morro scowled, batting his hand away. "It's just a scratch," he groused. "I'm not used to being this solid."

Lloyd almost had to bite back a laugh at the irritated expression on Morro's face, though it quickly soured. It might be amusing now, but what if Morro suddenly forgot he wasn't a ghost mid-battle and tried to take a sword the the back? Lloyd wasn't keen on dealing with the fallout of something like that, much less whatever its effect on _him_ would be. Morro had done enough damage to him on purpose in his life, he didn't need any more on accident.

"We need to go," Harumi spoke up, tearing Lloyd from that worrying train of thought. Her expression was strained. "If they caught up to us, there's only more on the way."

"Right," Lloyd nodded, pushing past Morro to climb the firsts few steps of the ladder again. With his unharmed shoulder, he braced himself against the trap door, grimacing when it barely budged. He glanced at Harumi. "You sure you don't have a key?"

Harumi scowled, climbing up next to him and pressing uncomfortably close as she felt the edges of the door. Lloyd shied away, wavering briefly and almost losing his balance on the ladder before regaining it. Harumi blew a strand of hair from her face, her jaw working.

She finally slammed at it, making an irritated sound. "If only you hadn't lost your power," she muttered.

Lloyd stared at her, incredulously. "And who's fault is _that?_ "

Harumi eyed him shrewdly. "I didn't make you walk into that prison. You waltzed in there yourself."

Lloyd was on the verge of what was either an aneurism or physically strangling her, when Morro pushed past them both, the two yelping as they nearly fell off the ladder.

"FSM's sake," he huffed, then drawing his arm back, struck the lock with the blunt side of his knife, the blow finally rattling it loose.

Lloyd and Harumi blinked, and Morro rolled his eyes as he shoved the door open, revealing the midnight blue of the night sky above them.

" _Idiots_ ," he muttered as he clambered out. Lloyd quickly followed after, Harumi at his back. He stood slowly, his eyes adjusting to the darkness around them. Wind whipped through his hair as he leaned over the edge of the roof, staring down at the palace below, then out over the city. From this high he could see the canals stretching into darkness, the flickering lights of the half-wrecked city streets. _Nya's somewhere out there_ , he thought.

"The tram's this way." Harumi's voice suddenly snapped him out of it, as she gestured across the roof.

 _Right. Not free yet_ , he reminded himself, his skin buzzing with adrenaline as he raced across the rooftops. Harumi kept her footsteps light and careful, counting steps as if retracing a familiar path. Lloyd's eyes roved the night sky around them frantically as they rounded the edge of the palace, searching for—

"There!" The cables were almost obscured by the dark of the night, but he could see them, familiar and solid where they stretched across the city. Sure enough, one of the palace ledges reached out just far enough that the cables passed directly below. It was almost close enough that Lloyd could easily hop on a tram car, if it were passing. A gust of wind blew against them, and the wires hummed, swaying slightly in the breeze.

Morro made a quiet noise in his throat. "Great, looks real stable," he remarked drily, his eyes narrowed.

Lloyd shot him a look. "We can wait for the SOG to get up here and join us, if you want."

"They won't, because we'll be gone by then," Harumi said, her lips pursed. She looked less confident in their escape route now that she had to confront it. "Our biggest concern is still the Colossi."

Lloyd's stomach turned. He'd forgotten about that.

Morro frowned. "Why are we worried about that thing?" he asked. "It's halfway across the city."

"Because it could show up any minute, in which case we all fall seven stories and die," Harumi snapped. "Which I would prefer to avoid."

Morro shrugged. "It's just dying," he told her. "It's nothing to get worked up over. Kinda boring, comparatively."

Harumi looked as if she was considering kicking him in the face. Despite himself, Lloyd had to stifle a snort. He shook his head, then side-stepped slowly out on the ledge, maneuvering himself to a sitting position on the edge of it, and took a breath. Then, before anyone could react, he let himself drop, his stomach bottoming out as Morro and Harumi gave twin cries of alarm. Before Lloyd could even begin to get scared, his feet met the solid cables, and he wavered briefly before finding his balance, however precarious.

He released the breath he'd been holding, his mouth pulling into a small grin instead. He took a few tentative steps forward, focusing on the placement of his shoes on the rounded steel, rather than the streets and canal far down below. Another gust of night air swept against him, and Lloyd wavered, throwing his arms out for balance. Painfully aware of the others' eyes on him, Lloyd blew another breath out, then took a step. Then another, carefully, his feet finding the familiar balance years of training had left him with.

 _It's just like training_ , he told himself. _Just like sparring with Jay on the high bars, that's all._

Lloyd craned his head over his shoulder to Morro and Harumi, where they stood at the edge of the roof, staring at him with wide eyes. "Come on," he called. "It's safe. This thing holds entire cars full of people, it can take us three."

Morro gave him a long look, then shrugged, dropping easily down on the cables as he had. Harumi looked pale, but she nodded, her lips pressed tightly together as she hopped down after Morro, her arms raised outward to balance herself. Her first few steps were slow and hesitant, but she appeared to be keeping her balance.

Morro looked far more at ease, following just behind Lloyd with a lightness of step that could rival Jay's. He almost looked more comfortable, perched high in the air like this, though Lloyd supposed that made sense.

After having experienced what it was like to support himself with the wind, Lloyd had a newfound appreciation for it, even if he knew it was more likely to be his downfall right now than his salvation.

They weren't making a bad pace, though. Lloyd knew this area pretty well, and there was a maintenance station right ahead. If they could reach that soon enough, they ought to have a fairly decent head start.

"There's a station close up ahead," he said, raising his voice so it reached them, keeping his eyes glued firmly ahead. "If we make it there, we can climb down and—"

The rest of his sentence strangled in his throat as he came to an abrupt stop. In hindsight, he probably should have been looking at the _station_ , not his feet.

Harumi whispered a frantic curse from behind him, and Lloyd's stomach plummeted.

"Oh, that's not even _fair_ ," Morro muttered.

The station was, indeed, close up ahead, just like Lloyd remembered. It was also much busier than he'd even seen it, as Killow stood in the midst of his men at the edge of it, leering at him in a savage expression of victory.

 _How_ , Lloyd thought in despair. How could his luck possibly be _this bad_ —

"Green Ninja!"

Lloyd turned his head as the title echoed to him from the palace, and his stomach only dropped further as he caught sight of the speaker. The previously empty rooftop they'd left behind was crowded now, and Lloyd recognized one of the bikers they'd threatened earlier leading the pack.

Harumi shrank back, and Morro half-heartedly leveled his knife at her back. Lloyd felt a vague flash of appreciation that he believed they'd get out of this enough to keep up the pretense.

"Let the Quiet One go and surrender yourself," Killow ordered, and Lloyd's head whipped back to him. Killow smirked. "And things won't end like they did last time."

Lloyd felt a ghost of a bruise throb against his ribs, and he stiffened. "Yeah," he said, willing his voice to come steady. "Sorry if I don't buy that."

Killow simply laughed, shaking his head. "You're a cornered rat, boy. Might as well make it easy on yourself." His eyes glinted, and he nodded at Morro. "Maybe this time you can save at least one friend from a messy end, instead of losing them to the Colossi again."

Lloyd's vision went red, his blood running hot. His fingers clenched white-knuckled around his dagger, resting the urge to hurl it at Killow's head.

 _They're not dead,_ he wanted to spit at him. _You think you've got the upper hand but you don't, you stupid—_

"What's the _plan_ , oh great ninja leader," Morro hissed at him from behind his back, his voice strained.

"Um."

Lloyd faltered as the cables suddenly dipped, and he glanced back, heart skipping in panic. A few bikers at the edge of the palace had lowered themselves onto the lines, and were gingerly moving toward them. The cables rattled even further as Killow shoved his own men out, slowly closing the gap between them. Lloyd swallowed, pressing back closer to Morro. He was right, he needed a plan, now. He couldn't go back. He couldn't go back in a cage again, not when his father was—

He grit his teeth, his head whipping back and forth frantically, mind racing. As the bikers drew closer he took another step back, wavering briefly as the cable shifted, the weight of the added people straining it taught. Lloyd swayed dangerously before regaining his balance, then made the mistake of looking down. The canal swirled far below, the cable his feet stood on stretching dangerously thin above it.

Lloyd's eyes widened, and like lightning, an obvious idea him him. A _terrible_ obvious idea, granted, but it was better than anything else.

"Morro," he murmured. "How far can you fly us with your wind."

Morro's eyebrows furrowed. "Pretty far," he answered, his voice hushed. "But we have to merge."

"Can you reach that building over there?"

Morro stiffened, but he nodded. "What are you thinking?" he whispered, his eyebrows furrowed. "Jump?"

Lloyd set his jaw. "Sort of. Hold on to Harumi," he muttered. He met her eyes briefly, nodding at her. "Don't let go of him."

Harumi and Morro stared at him in identical confusion. The Lloyd spun his dagger once, his arm tensing, and their eyes went wide. A flash of panic echoed over the link from Morro, and Harumi whispered a curse.

"You're _insane_ ," she hissed, but she grabbed Morro's hand tightly, and he winced as her grip went white-knuckled.

Lloyd ignored her, bracing himself. The men had stalked even closer now, almost within reach, and Killow stood watching in satisfaction, a leering grin still on his lips.

"C'mon, kid," he chuckled. "You're out of options, give it up."

Lloyd gave him a tight smile. "Don't sell me short."

He wished he'd had a better line than that. This could be one of the stupidest things he's ever done, and Kai would be so disappointed if he found out Lloyd had gone out with _those_ as his punctuating words.

Shaking the thought off, Lloyd brought the dagger up, the sharp edge glinting in the moonlight. Killow's eyes went wide. But before he could even open his mouth, Lloyd brought the dagger down in a long, sweeping arc — and solidly sliced the cable in two.

The result was instantaneous. Screams echoed across the cable as both sides split in the middle, sending the occupants plummeting toward the river. Harumi shrieked as Morro yanked her forward, and Lloyd felt her arms seize around his waist as Morro blurred into him, the cold feeling clashing horribly with his turning stomach as they fell.

 ** _Blast us up!_** Morro cried through his head in terror, too conscious of the canal waters below them. **_Now, now!_**

Prepared for the sensation this time, Lloyd reoriented himself in the air, thrust his hand down and _shoved_. A rush of adrenaline lit up his veins like burning ice again, and Lloyd felt a gale of wind erupt from his fingertips just before they went rocketing up, Harumi's arms locking tight around his middle as she screamed.

"So long, scumbag!" Morro crowed through Lloyd's mouth as they shot past Killow, who still clung to the edge of the station, watching them with his mouth wide open and his expression furious.

" _Garmadon!_ "

The infuriated howl was swept away by the shrieking wind as they shot higher, arcing up over the city. Lloyd felt a dizzying sense of exhilaration as he watched the city lights dance beneath his feet, his stomach going weightless as they hung suspended among the clouds. Harumi gave another shouting cry, though it sounded less terrified this time. Then they began to drop again, and her arms wrapped so tightly around him that Lloyd choked.

 ** _Lighten up_** , Morro wheezed in his mind. **_Get her loose or we're gonna—_**

It was too late — control had slipped from Morro back to Lloyd, who was violently reminded that he had yet to figure out how to land. Consequently, the rest of their flight turned into a spiraling fall, screams echoing in three voices before they suddenly crashed against the rough edge of the building roof, breaking apart as they rolled and tumbled across the rooftop asphalt, before finally coming a harsh, gasping halt.

Lloyd laid there stunned for a moment, staring up dazedly at the night sky and breathing hard. He could hear Harumi's own gasping pants from beside him, and Morro's harsh breathing off to his left.

Lloyd lifted his hand, flexing his fingers shakily. Still his, he thought in relief. His hand wavered, and he turned his attention to the stars glimmering behind the haze of smoke in the sky above them, the cool feeling of the breeze on his skin. A shaky, breathless exhale escaped him.

They'd made it. He was out of the palace, out of Garmadon's grasp. He was free.

A wheezing laugh escaped him. Then another, breathless giggles building together until he was full-out laughing, eyes threatening to water in half-hysteria, half-elation.

He wasn't going to be cold-blooded murdered by his father after all.

"We're alive," Harumi panted, flopping an arm over her forehead. She breathed a laugh out, the same half-hysterical, breathless kind of wheeze as Lloyd. "We're not dead."

Morro pushed himself to his knees, hands braced on the asphalt roof as he shook his head. "I can't _believe_ ," he exhaled. "That actually worked."

"Of course it did," Lloyd said, throwing an arm over his eyes. "Don't you two trust me?"

There was a beat of silence. Then — maybe because they had escaped, maybe because the altitude was messing with their heads, for whatever reason — they all burst into startled laugher. Morro even barked out a laugh this time, Harumi muffling a quiet snicker as Lloyd found himself smothering giggles.

And for half a moment, lying on the rooftop and laughing, the angry shouts of the Sons of Garmadon far behind them, Lloyd felt optimistic.

Reality was quick to crash back down.

* * *

"There's no way we're going to reach Jamanakai like this," Harumi insisted, her voice echoing throughout the stairwell. "They'll catch up to us within the hour. Or did you forget that the Sons of Garmadon are _bikers?"_

Morro rolled his eyes, trudging behind Lloyd on the dim-lit staircase that led down the building they'd landed on. While he didn't grace her with a response, he didn't disagree with her, either. She had a point. As much as it pained him to admit it, they'd just barely escaped the Sons of Garmadon, and while he had yet to see how legitimate the _biker_ claim was, he didn't doubt it.

Not that any bike could outpace his wind, but Morro was painfully aware of how far he'd stretched his powers in the last hours — merging so often with Lloyd, whose own exhaustion felt like a constant shovel to the head, hadn't helped matters. Their own group was running on fumes as it was, and they couldn't very well fly the entire way to Jamanakai. Even with the power boost contact with Lloyd gave him, he wasn't entirely confident he could make it that far.

Morro's eyes found Lloyd's back, and his brow dipped. He wasn't new to possessing people's bodies, and he certainly wasn't new to possessing Lloyd's. The thought brought a hot pang of shame, but his curiosity outmatched it for the moment. What he _was_ new to was the rush of power that came with the possession this time. That hadn't been there last time — tried as he might, he'd never been able to access Lloyd's powers, not even a measly sparkle of green. Lloyd hadn't been able to keep him from controlling his body, but he'd locked him so tightly from his power that Morro may as well have been bashing himself against a wall.

 _Maybe because he wasn't forcing it on Lloyd this time…?_ he mused to himself. It would make sense, even if Lloyd remained obstinate that his powers had left him. Sure, he couldn't blast people and his eyes weren't green, so he was essentially useless in that area, but—

There was _something_ there. Morro had felt it.

Not that he was about to pick an argument with Lloyd on it right _now_.

"We're taking a car, obviously," Lloyd finally sighed in reply to Harumi. He sounded as tired as he looked, the dim yellow lighting of the stairwell making the dark bruises beneath his eyes stand out sharply. Morro knew he couldn't look that great himself right now, but he was pretty sure he didn't look half as dead as Lloyd did.

 _Ha._

"Whose car? Yours?" Harumi narrowed her eyes as they rounded another flight of stairs, sliding her hand along the railing. "It was destroyed at the prison."

Lloyd paused briefly at that, and Morro felt a flash of heat through the link.

"You _destroyed_ it?" he said, sounding wounded. "What, was chucking me through the prison wall not enough?"

Huh. That was interesting. Morro watched the two of them, his eyebrows furrowed. He was beginning to piece together some idea of what had gone down between them, but he was missing too many pieces. Lloyd's thoughts were a terrible muddle to sort through right now, and he couldn't pick details out like he had before. This left him relatively in the dark, which was incredibly frustrating, as he had no idea where getting chucked through a prison wall fit into the story.

 _Stupid old man_ , he seethed internally. How did he expect Morro to figure anything out, when he'd tossed him into the worst of the mess with no forewarning at all?

"I wasn't going to leave you with an advantage like that on hand," Harumi sniffed, drawing Morro from his thoughts. "I couldn't be sure what shape you'd be in after the fight."

Lloyd made a strangled noise in the back of his throat, and Morro caught a flash of memory — _blurred vision, metal taste, gritty sand, painpainpain_ — before Lloyd violently shoved it down.

Lloyd sucked a breath through his teeth. "My car would be too recognizable anyways," he relented, with reluctance. "So we're going to steal one."

Both Morro and Harumi paused at that. Lloyd ignored them, continuing to trod determinedly down the stairs.

"Wait, we're _what_ now?" Morro hurried, quickly catching up with him.

"Stealing a car," Lloyd repeated bluntly. "I thought you'd be familiar with that."

 _Touché_ , Morro groused internally, only half-hoping Lloyd heard it.

Harumi gave a quiet, derisive sort of chuckle. "So much for your high ground."

Lloyd cut her a look. "Sometimes you have to bend a bit not to break," he said, sounding eerily like his uncle. The resemblance died quickly as his lip curled. "Besides, I'm already working with _you_. It can't get much worse than that."

"The feeling is mutual," Harumi smiled tightly, her teeth sharp.

"So what, we steal a car and high-tail it out of here?" Morro interjected, already nursing a headache. Talk about arguing in circles, these two.

"That's about it," Lloyd sighed, the fight in him ebbing as they finally reached the ground level, pushing the stairwell door open with a creaking squeal of hinges. He winced, then shook his head. "We're going to need to be less conspicuous than we've been, though."

"I'll say," Harumi said, her expression relieved as they left the stairs behind, trailing through the empty office workspaces. "You're walking around in a banned color, the both of you. It's as if you're begging to be caught."

"That's why _changing_ is part of the plan," Lloyd grit out. He narrowed his eyes at her. "And you're going to need to ditch the makeup."

Harumi's lips twisted unpleasantly, but she didn't argue.

"Fine," she muttered. Her eyes slid to Morro. "I don't suppose you can get rid of…all that."

She gestured vaguely around her eyes, and Morro felt a hot flash in his gut as he realized what she was referencing. That wouldn't have bothered him, normally — he knew what he looked like, and he wasn't about to start caring what _she_ thought. What _did,_ oddly, was the numb kind of ache in his chest at the reminder. Which didn't make any sense, because he _liked_ the way he looked. Sure, the scarring wasn't _fun_ , but it was — it was years ago, anyways.

"Sorry," he said, stiffly. "You're going to have to be more _specific_."

Harumi rolled her eyes, and she opened her mouth to reply. "You kno—"

"Drop it, both of you."

Lloyd's voice snapped out unusually harsh, and Morro blinked. Harumi's eyes widened briefly, before narrowing again as her mouth twisted up. Lloyd looked out of patience for any sort of reply, his arms crossed tightly.

He took short breath, blowing it out tightly. "Look. We may have made it out of the palace, but we pretty much just declared war on my father. He's going to come for us, sooner than later. And when he does, I fully intend to _survive_." An undercurrent of steel seeped into his voice, and he glared at them. "I'm not going back to Garmadon in chains. None of us are going back. We're in this together now, whether we like it or not — and _believe_ me, I don't. But unless you want to duke it out now, and lose _any_ chance of coming out of this on top, we're going to have to _get along_."

The last two words snapped out from his mouth like a death sentence, and the impact wasn't any less. Morro wanted to point out that Lloyd hadn't been doing much to help with that either, up until this point, but the look in his eyes kept him quiet. There was a time to pick a fight with Lloyd, and there was a time to know when you were throwing yourself against an immovable wall.

Harumi looked no more pleased, but something rigid eased out in her shoulders, as if in surrender. Morro merely gave a short nod for his part — he figured he was better off not making any promises.

Lloyd unfolded his arms, then brought his hand up. He wavered for a beat, as if warring with himself, then extended his hand fully to Harumi.

"We're on even ground now," he said, his voice cautiously even. "Truce?"

Harumi stared at his hand, teeth biting down on the edge of her lip. With a sharp huff and a shake of her head, she finally reached her own hand out, meeting Lloyd's with a tight grip.

"Truce," she sighed. They shook once, the air between them almost dangerously charged, then quickly stepped away, as if the contact burned them.

Morro flicked his eyes skywards.

 _Honestly_. And people called him dramatic.

* * *

The city canal outside of the palace found itself unusual busy tonight, with straggled, soaking crowds of Killow's men pulling themselves from the river one by one. Killow's eyes burned where he watched, his mask creaking in his tight grasp.

If the river hadn't been there, they'd have lost far too many of their number. And with the Quiet One lost as well…

Killow growled to himself. He should've crushed the Garmadon brat between his hands when he had the chance. He wouldn't make that mistake again.

A commotion from his left snapped his attention back, and Killow turned to see one of his bikers stumbling up to him, looking pale. Killow eyed him — his clothes were dry, which meant he was one of the lucky few to have escaped the breaking cables. He was sporting a rather spectacular black eye, but he still had his knife in hand, the end stained dark with blood.

"Boss," he panted. "He's here. I couldn't—"

"Where is he."

Killow stiffened, curses running through his mind. _Ah_ , he had thought he'd have more time before this confrontation. Either way, he wasn't about to cower.

He turned, meeting Garmadon square in the eye. "They cut the cables," he explained shortly, jerking his head at the bikers still crawling from the canals. "They had the Quiet One as hostage, so we couldn't get a clear shot."

Garmadon's lips twisted, and the unnatural fire in his eyes seemed to burn hotter.

"Is that so," he rasped.

Killow nodded, then glanced toward the unfortunate biker still standing by his side. "This one almost caught them," he said, shoving the man forward. His eyes dilated in terror as Garmadon pinned him with his gaze instead.

"Almost?"

"I-I managed to tag the boy," the biker gasped out. "But his companion — I was outnumbered. And I couldn't risk hitting the Quiet One, I—"

Garmadon took a step forward, and Killow thought his subordinate might asphyxiate in terror on the spot. But Garmadon simply snatched the bloodstained knife from his hands, holding it aloft and letting the biker stumble back, his knees shaking. Garmadon ignored him. Slowly, he turned the knife over in his fingers, hovering over the dark, odd color of crimson that stained the edges.

Purple eyes narrowed. "This is his?"

The biker swallowed. "Y-yes, my lord," he rasped out.

The dark lord paused, the silence thick and cloying. When he finally moved, the biker once again flinched back in terror, growing paler as Garmadon loomed ominously over him.

"You are fortunate it was only this," he said, his voice cold as steel. "Consider this a warning." His eyes flashed, and the biker shrank back.

"He is _mine_ ," Garmadon growled. "Spill his blood needlessly again, and I'll bleed you dry."

With that, he stepped back, dismissing the biker with a wave of his hand. The trembling man wasted no time in scurrying away, fleeing for the rest of his companions. Killow watched him go, before returning his attention to Garmadon, who seemed to have lost all interest in him, now moving back toward the palace, slowly, as if in a trance.

"This will work for now," Killow could just hear him muttering beneath his breath, his voice a rasping whisper.

Fingertips swept over the edge of the knife, the droplets of blood lost against dark skin. Killow watched in morbid curiosity, but Garmadon seemed to have forgotten he existed, his eyes lost somewhere far away.

"For now. This is a start."


End file.
